


Back To You

by EspadaIV, JKRobertson



Category: Bleach
Genre: Absent Parents, Blended family, Business Partners, Childhood Friends, Dead Parent, F/M, Falling In Love, Human Ulquiorra Cifer, Kendo, Memory Alteration, Memory Loss, Minor Inoue Orihime/Ishida Uryuu, Minor Inoue Orihime/Kurosaki Ichigo - Freeform, Moving On, Post-Canon, Reunion, Romance, Second Chances, Single Parents, Ulquihime Week, Ulquihime Week 2019, Ulquiorra in a gigai, Unplanned Pregnancy, cafe owner Orihime, grown up relationships, honoring the dead, single parent Ulquiorra Cifer, single parent orihime inoue, teacher Ulquiorra, uhweek 2019, uhweek2019, ulquihime, widow Orihime Inoue
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-02
Updated: 2020-07-17
Packaged: 2021-02-26 03:47:16
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 43
Words: 218,021
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21587092
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EspadaIV/pseuds/EspadaIV, https://archiveofourown.org/users/JKRobertson/pseuds/JKRobertson
Summary: Despite her grief, Orihime Kurosaki does her best as a single mother and cafe/shop owner after her husband's untimely death.  Her son, Kazui, struggles until he enters fourth grade and  meets a transfer student named Eriko, and their new homeroom teacher, her father, Ulquiorra Cifer.  The two children bond over their misfit status and become fast friends, much to Ulquiorra's dismay.  How are the daughter of an Arrancar and the son of a Shinigami meant to be friends?  And when Ulquiorra discovers that Orihime doesn't remember anything about him, he can't help but dig deeper and grow closer to her in the process.  What will he uncover?  How close will the two former Las Noches residents become? And how far would Eriko's estranged mother go to stop it?
Relationships: Ulquiorra Cifer/Inoue Orihime
Comments: 171
Kudos: 81





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The first three chapters of this fic are for UlquiHime Week 2019, day 2: First Glance/Desire

Yuko seemed like a human version of Sung-Sun Cyan, one of Hallibel’s Fraccion. She was a plain person. She seemed to be about emotionless as him. She didn’t seem to like people. The best part was that she did not remind him of Orihime Inoue. Ulquiorra didn’t know why that human would cross his mind, but every so often she would run through his memories, demanding his attention.

It would be those days when he wanted to take the train to Karakura and demand answers from Urahara, Inoue, and Kurosaki. He didn’t, though. Urahara had provided him with a gigai, a set of documents and credentials, and sent him away without any answers when he first came to the World of the Living after reawakening in his crystal tree in Hueco Mundo. There was no reason to suspect that the shopkeeper would be any more forthcoming on a repeat journey. It would be those days that he would cling to Yuko and demand that she stay with him in the tiny apartment he had acquired.

How he hated to leave her; every time it was harder. He had to go _sometimes_. His schedule dictated it, yet, there he would be, standing in the hall kissing her.

Ulquiorra had no clue what Yuko did all day. He just knew she would be there when he arrived home from work. 

Yuko was loyal, so he thought. Yuko was faithful, so he thought. On the night of his twenty-third birthday, he came home to an empty apartment. There was no note. No message. No phone call.

Had she finally had enough of his moodiness over the years? Had he been too controlling, dictating where she could go and what she could wear? Had his need to dominate her been in excess? Perhaps. Yet he never touched her sexually. As an Espada, he had been used to people doing his bidding and following his orders. Yuko had to be coaxed and trained to abide by his wishes. 

When she came back several days later, something had changed.

She was kind to him. There was emotion in her eyes. Ulquiorra scowled at this behavior, but appreciated it as she rubbed his back for him that night. He never expected his body to react to Yuko. It hadn’t in the past as they lay together night after night. She slipped something--a little pill-- into his mouth, and an hour later, it felt like he was flying. 

Ulquiorra was shocked that he felt this way as she kissed him, and he froze for half a second before his hand came up and cupped the back of her head, threading in her dark hair. He growled softly, and parted her lips so his tongue could plunge into their depths. These were different from the chaste kisses from before.

The action was apparently well-received, because Yuko returned the gesture as her hands slid down his body to his erection, which was just begging for attention. The sound coming from his throat as her hand wrapped around the shaft had her wet, and she mewled against the kiss. Breaking it, he pulled back, panting as his brain shut down.

What had Yuko given him to make him feel like this? What was this emotion or sensation running through his body? Was she like Orihime, unlocking another piece of him? He shook his head slightly to remove any thoughts of that woman from his brain.

He sat up and loomed over the tiny Japanese woman with a serious expression on his face, brows drawn together. She looked as sweet as could be, smiling at him, a hint of a smirk on her face. Ulquiorra bit the corner of his lip as he leaned down, lips trailing her neck, sucking gently, tasting her sweet flesh for the first time.

Why had they never done anything like this before? 

Her hand set a slow rhythm on his length as she let his mouth explore her skin. When he nibbled on her shoulder she giggled. Her thighs parted to allow room for his hips. When Ulquiorra was naked, Yuko seemed to know what to do. 

Still, she gasped as he entered her fully with one smooth stroke. Yuko was crying out as if she was some feral animal. The sounds allowed a dark part of his brain to come to the surface and enjoy how she cried out under him; how her nails felt raking down his back; how her body arched to meet his.

“Yuko, your body is so hot. You’re so wet. It feels so good--”

The woman who was getting fucked quickly shut him up by kissing him for long moments. He was struggling with control, so Ulquiorra decided to treat this as if she were delicate.

  
  
“Cifer-san,” she whined, saying his name that way to annoy him. “Please.”

“Please what?”

“Fuck me, Cifer.”

Every word he spoke to her after she said his last name was punctuated with a thrust. “Do. Not. Call. Me. Cifer.” Of course, Yuko squealed with pleasure as he went deeper and harder. As soon as her body was done convulsing, Ulquiorra pulled out of her.

“Did you--you know?”

He shook his head. Just because he had never participated in sexual activities before didn’t mean he was ignorant to what sex was. He sighed as Yuko lay there smiling, enjoying the aftershocks of bliss, and he eventually elected to pick up a pillow and stop in the hallway for a blanket from one of the many closets scattered within his apartment.

The moment they just shared seemed impersonal, like there was something missing. What happened to that feeling of flying and the euphoria that had erupted all over his body? He flopped into the armchair, putting the pillow behind his head and covering himself with the blanket. 

Ulquiorra’s sharp hearing could pick up Yuko’s quiet footsteps as she came closer to him. Soon the chilly temperature of the apartment assaulted his skin as she whipped the blanket off his body.

“What the--?” His voice was loud. The last time he raised his voice like that was at Kurosaki when he refused to die. She said nothing as she straddled his lap, engulfing his cock with her body.

She rode him, rocking her hips while kissing him everywhere she could reach. Their breathing sounded harsh in his ears as their bodies met over and over. Ulquiorra held onto the arms of that chair for dear life as his orgasm became his goal. He pressed Yuko to his chest with one hand while still gripping the fabric of the chair in the other. His eyes closed as he gave a hard thrust into her one final time, coming undone and spilling inside of the woman. He didn’t realize that his nails had dug so far into the chair that it had ripped.

They sat on that chair for several moments before Ulquiorra found himself getting drowsy. He felt her kiss his forehead.

When he woke up the next morning, the sun was shining. He could already tell that Yuko was gone and she was gone for good this time. There would be no way she’d come back after what happened. She never smiled at him. She had never initiated any sexual activities beyond kissing with him. He knew that her actions last night were her goodbye to him.

No note, no card, not so much as a fucking souvenir that she had been there, except for the torn fabric on his arm chair. She hadn’t even stomped out of the apartment, instead leaving like some thief.

He sat in that armchair, naked with that blanket wrapped around him, head propped on his pillow, and swore that no one else would penetrate his defenses. He wanted to get angry that Yuko left like that. He wanted to tear the apartment apart, flip things, break stuff, destroy something, but he found that he couldn’t. It wasn’t until after he went to a liquor store that the emotions flooded him. 

Ulquiorra curled up on his torn apart bed, the sheets stripped and balled into a corner of the room. He had stupidly fallen for another woman who had ended up dissolving his heart. 

There was no way Ulquiorra Cifer would fall for it again. 

***

Everyone knew that Orihime Inoue and Ichigo Kurosaki would end up together. It was always just a matter of time. And after the Quincy War, they both thought that they had all the time in the world.

After graduation, Tatsuki and Chad were still around, and Uryu came back to town most weekends, so the big merry group still got together regularly. This continued, more or less, until Renji and Rukia’s wedding. Ichigo had gone to Soul Society with Orihime, Chad, and Uryu a day before the ceremony. While they were there, he was summoned to the First Division’s barracks for an audience with Captain Commander Kyoraku.

It turned out that Ichigo’s special set of circumstances lent themselves to a rather gray interpretation of Soul Society laws, especially concerning his eventual, natural death. His hollow and quincy powers were slowly returning to him after having been depleted by Yhwach. No human had ever had those powers in addition to being a shinigami tangled up into one soul before. It left Soul Society in a quandary. The fear was that when his human body died, the other parts of his soul would battle for dominance. No one wanted a repeat of what had happened on the dome of Las Noches. 

After much deliberation, it was decided that the only safe way to handle Kurosaki’s death as a human would be to perform a konso, ensuring that his soul would return to Soul Society cleansed and renewed. It was unlikely that he would retain any memories or powers from his current life, but the risk of allowing his spirit chain to break, and have his soul hollowfy with the terrible powers he possessed, was too great. By the time Ichigo left the meeting, he had agreed. Part of him was actually relieved that at least in death, he would be just like everybody else.

The next day, Renji and Rukia got married, and afterward Renji gave Ichigo a little nudge toward thinking about the next phase of his own life. He was about to graduate from University. Orihime had been out of school for a year already, having earned an associate’s degree in general studies. There had always been a mutual attraction between them, although it took him longer to realize than her.

So Ichigo pulled the trigger. He asked her out. As soon he got a full-time job, they got engaged. It seemed to be their destiny, and they were both pleased when Orihime found out on her twenty-third birthday that they were going to be parents. No one had to know that it happened a month before their wedding, they joked to each other.

Kazui was born the next spring. More than ever before, Ichigo felt that he had something to protect. As soon as Orihime was feeling up to it, they made an appointment with an insurance agent and bought life insurance policies for both of them. It was around the same time that Ichigo explained to Orihime about Soul Society’s decision about his death. Tears were shed and arguments were made. Why couldn’t she just reject his death? Wouldn’t he want to stay with her and baby Kazui? In the end, she understood. She didn’t like it, but she understood. 

Orihime was beside herself when Kazui’s shinigami abilities manifested at a young age. Renji and Rukia’s visits only made things worse as her son tried to compete with their older daughter, swordfighting indoors and causing a ruckus flashstepping all over town. Eventually Orihime put her foot down and insisted that all further Abarai/Kurosaki reunions be held at Grandpa Isshin’s house, if for no other reason than it would be her bitchy sister-in-law’s responsibility to clean up after everyone went home. 

Karin Kurosaki continued to live with Isshin after her sister got married and moved to Naruki City. Karin had gone to the same community college as Orihime, and she got a job at an office afterward, quickly moving up in the ranks. She looked down on Orihime for not doing the same; they had the same credentials. Karin could not understand why Orihime would choose to marry her stupid brother, have a kid, and stay home to raise him.

Orihime couldn’t understand why Karin had such a big stick up her ass. What business was it of hers what Orihime and Ichigo decided was best for their family? Besides, Orihime had plans. As soon as Kazui was in elementary school, she started taking business courses online. Orihime had no desire to be an office lady, serving tea to the higher-ups and getting fired when, inevitably, Kazui got into more trouble and she would be called away frequently from work to deal with it. No. She would be her own boss.

The Kurosaki family was happy, but Orihime and Ichigo remained scarred by the events of their past. Ichigo carried lots of regret and guilt for things he had done. He had killed. He had become a monster. It wasn’t what he had wanted for himself.

The worst part of all for him was that he felt responsible for Orihime’s mental trauma. It was worse after Kazui was born. The late night feedings had caused both him and Orihime sleep disturbances. Orihime had nightmares constantly. Almost every night he heard her pleading with him to help her. Pleading with him to stop. Pleading with that damn Espada.

It broke his heart. And despite her brave face and statements to the contrary, Ichigo knew that deep, deep down, his wife was afraid of him. It ate him up that she had reached out to that dying Espada and told him that she wasn’t afraid of _him_. He knew that she had meant it, too. She had been very disturbed by Ulquiorra Cifer’s death; almost as disturbed as she had been at Ichigo’s transformation into the monster who killed him.

Ichigo might have been able to get over it if the nightmares had stopped once Kazui started sleeping through the night, but they never got better. The next time the Abarai family came to visit, he and Renji sat up on the roof of the Kurosaki Clinic with some beers and Ichigo confessed to the scarlet-haired shinigami about his troubles. He felt stricken. He felt responsible. He was tired. He felt sorry for Hime. In his state of inebriation he also confessed that he was sometimes jealous. He didn’t like how much his wife spoke of the dead Espada in her sleep. 

Renji didn’t consider the possibilities when he flippantly suggested that Ichigo have Orihime’s memory altered so she wouldn’t suffer and Ichigo could get some goddamned sleep. Ichigo had rolled his eyes at the time.

After another six months of living with Orihime’s nightmares, Ichigo wasn’t rolling his eyes anymore. He talked to some people. He remembered that Ginjo and Tsukishima had been involved in the Quincy war. He decided a trip to Soul Society was in order and found the Fullbringers, convincing Tsukishima to do him a favor.

A week later, Orihime slept through the night peacefully, as she did every night thereafter. Tsukishima’s Book of the End had modified her memories. Now, in her mind, it had been Yammy and Tsukishima in that Karakura park when Tsubaki was injured. It had been Tsukishima who kidnapped her for Aizen. It had been Tsukishima who decided to join forces against Aizen after Ichigo’s battle with Grimmjow and helped them escape Hueco Mundo. The fight on the dome of Las Noches, Ichigo’s transformation into a Vasto Lorde class hollow, and Ulquiorra Cifer no longer existed in her mind. They never happened.


	2. Chapter 2

Nine months had passed by since Ulquiorra had seen, heard, or touched Yuko. He had thrown himself into his job as a teacher and ignored distractions. He would look passive and as unimpressed as possible at his students every day. He felt envious of them. He felt jealous that they had bright futures ahead of them. 

They didn’t know what Hollows were. The children he taught didn’t know what Shinigami could do or that Arrancars existed. They were unaware that their teacher was the only Espada in the universe that had a second Resurreccion. Maybe he had a third… Maybe that is why he woke up inside of his crystal tree again.

Three more months passed before he heard from Yuko. Heard… That wasn’t the word for it. A proper term for what the woman did to Ulquiorra would be mind-fucked. She mind-fucked him. His neighbor called with an urgent message and he had to leave the school to come home with papers almost spilling out of his bag. He had to grade things and do lesson plans.

He tripped over a large, brightly patterned bag sitting in front of his door, which caused Ulquiorra to focus on where he was going. Who would leave a bag sitting in the walkway, he pondered as he knocked on the neighbor’s door.

The middle aged housewife from next door came out of her apartment carrying a bundle wrapped in pink, hoisted on her shoulder.

  
  
He gave the woman a quick bow in apology. “I’m quite sorry Sato. You called and said I had an urgent matter to attend to?”

The woman’s mouth formed a thin line and Ulquiorra could feel her judging and scolding him silently. He gave her another shallow bow. “The next time that slut comes knocking on your door, you might want to let her know your hours.”

He had heard the rumors about Yuko. Other male teachers said that she was a hostess at a shady club and entertained many foreign-looking men every day she worked. Others said she was a common street whore turning tricks for rich tourists. Shaking his head, Ulquiorra was determined not to think of the woman who had fucked him and left him. “Um, Yuko came by?” he asked, confused.

“Yes! And she left your daughter with me!”

His what?

His usually astute hearing was not functioning correctly. Something was wrong with this gigai. Did gigais need maintenance like cars did? He made a mental note to call Urahara about it. He brought his green eyes back to the woman who was still holding that bundle of pink in her arms. Ulquiorra had a nervous habit of rubbing his fingers together when he panicked or in stressful situations. His fingers could practically start a fire with how fast they were rubbing against each other now.

Blinking several times, Ulquiorra peered at the neighbor woman. “You affirmed that Yuko came by, yes?”

“Yes, she came by and knocked on your door. More like she was beating on it and interrupting my Mahjong game!”

“My apologies--”

Sato huffed. “She was going to just leave this precious thing in the hallway and slink off like a cat who had gotten their fill of tuna but I caught her! I brought the poor baby in and gave her a bottle. I warmed her up!”

Yuko was here. She was in this building and in this hallway. She had to have known that Ulquiorra was at work! It seemed very suspicious that she would do this. It didn’t seem right. The tiny human in Sato’s arms let out a soft cooing sound before the woman turned so that Ulquiorra could see the baby as she yawned, opening her milk sated eyes before falling back into a peaceful slumber. His heart beat rapidly in his chest as he stared at the infant.

She had green eyes. 

Green eyes. 

They were the color of Japan’s rolling mountains. They were the color of some lush forest in a fantasy movie. They were a vibrant viridian; a precious emerald; a striking malachite. The child’s eyes were just like his; shrouded in mystery and piercing.

  
  
Ulquiorra could not believe this. He simply could not believe this. “But--”

“Cifer, she left a note.”

Yuko left a note?

He took the folded piece of paper from Sato and scanned the contents of the characters written down.

_Cifer-san,_

_You always hated when I called you that. I always wondered why. I could have called you Ulquiorra-kun. I didn’t want to come back into your life. I didn’t want to do this to you but no one wants a hostess that has a kid. I can’t work with Eriko around. I have to pay for someone to watch her. She gets sick. I don’t get any sleep._

_You were just supposed to be for fun. You were stable. You have a great job. I knew as soon as you found out what I did for work, you’d leave me. I entertain other men--other foreigners, like yourself. I know that is shitty of me. I’m okay with it. I chased after you for several years. I wanted you, scaring off anyone who wanted a chance with you. Maybe if I hadn’t done that, we wouldn’t be in this mess._

_Anyway, this is our daughter, Eriko. Don’t worry, I gave her your last name. In the bag, you’ll find a small supply of things she needs. I labelled them so you’ll know what to get at the store. You’re going to need bottles, formula, diapers, wipes, burp cloths…_

_I’m sorry for not telling you or contacting you about this. I thought I could do it only to find out I didn’t want to be tied down to a kid. You’re good but there is always someone better out there. Someone with more money, better looks; someone who isn’t emotionally closed off and cautious about people._

_You won’t hear from me again,_

_Yuko_

Sato’s eyes were concerned as Ulquiorra folded the letter and placed it into his pocket. “Is something wrong, Cifer?”

“I do not know how to take care of an infant.”

“Of course you don’t. You kids today know how to make them but don’t know what goes into nurturing them.”

He shook his head. Sato was jumping to conclusions, but it was the truth. Ulquiorra had no idea what to do with a baby. He had never been around infants, save for the ones he had encountered as an Espada when he came to the world of the living. “You misunderstand me. I’ve never been around children this small before.”

The old woman scoffed. “We will get through this. I will help you.”

And Sato did help. The woman and her husband became like grandparents to Eriko, which pleased the old woman because she had no children of her own. Within days, his apartment changed. Within days, Ulquiorra changed. He felt this strange warm feeling bubble in his chest when he looked at his daughter.

She had Yuko’s facial features but his coloring, pale as porcelain, inky black hair and those green eyes. She had tiny hands which would wrap around his own slender fingers. He would watch in wonder as she slept. He would strap Eri onto his chest or back in the carrier Sato had found for him as he navigated the city to do business or go on errands. He would play with her and read to her like any father would do. 

As the years went by, he focused on raising the child to be a respectable, properly functioning human. He would have liked her to be a passive person, but he knew that couldn’t be as soon as she understood she could talk. 

Eriko was bubbly. She was delightful. She had a yearning for knowledge, but at the same time he had to prod her along and get her out of the spells of laziness she seemed to fall under. She was spoiled, wanting pretty things. 

Feeling it was his duty, Ulquiorra started offering private Kendo lessons to those students he saw promise in. It put extra money into his pockets. Then came the news. Sato’s husband was ill. Ulquiorra took it upon himself to move Sato into his home after he died and eventually they found themselves in a quiet part of Tokyo Prefecture close to Karakura Town and within the limits of Naruki City, living in a house tucked behind some trees on a hill. Sato’s husband’s insurance money had made the purchase possible.

  
  
Ulquiorra thought the old woman would have picked an old home to finish out her days but she had picked a modern looking prefab house. When he brought up this concern, Sato had patted his cheek to shush him.

  
  
“This house will last you well after I’m gone.”

When Eri turned seven years old, it happened. He arrived home and could tell there were traces of spiritual pressure throughout the residence; it caused him to go into alert mode. His hands itched for his sword or something to defend himself and his child. He followed it to the backyard to see the old woman’s body slumped over. She had been weeding. Sato was gone. She had a heart attack. Ulquiorra found himself lost without the wisdom and guidance of the old woman. She was like Aizen, but much kinder and trustworthy. It hurt that she died without saying goodbye. It hurt that another woman had gotten under his skin and cracked his already fractured heart.

***

Orihime and Ichigo’s lives were great for the next several years after her memory had been altered, until Ichigo lost his job. They had savings to get them by while he looked for something else, and Orihime was almost done with her online courses, but it was stressful and money was tight. They argued more often. Ichigo spent more time moonlighting as a Shinigami. He spent a lot of time going to neighboring towns doing job interviews. It was a rainy day in July when Orihime heard a knock on the door.

Rukia was in tears when Orihime answered. Apparently there was a child standing in the middle of the road. A boy, about eight years old. The same age as Kazui. The truck was going too fast and wasn’t going to be able to stop in time. Ichigo had told her that he didn’t think; he just reacted when he pushed the boy out of the way of the oncoming vehicle. The Naruki City Shinigami had contacted her and Renji to come do the konso. Ichigo had told Rukia to tell Orihime that he loved her and that he was sorry.

Orihime was a widow at age thirty-one.

Kazui had no father at age eight.

The funeral was tragic. All their friends came. Uryu had taken it upon himself to make sure everything went as smoothly as possible for his childhood friend and her son. Ichigo’s family had proven themselves useless, swallowed up by their own grief. Orihime allowed herself to depend on her Quincy friend for those several days, focusing on her grief and her son’s. 

A few weeks after the funeral, it was also Uryu who sat down with Orihime and helped her figure out her finances. It just was not feasible to keep the house. Even if she got a job, the only ones Orihime would qualify for would not provide enough income to pay the bills, and she would end up burning through Ichigo’s life insurance money too quickly, leaving nothing for Kazui’s future. 

So she decided to sell the house. She finished up her online business degree and bought a shop with an apartment above it for her and Kazui to live in. It was old, but charming, and was a lot more affordable. She was able to put away half of the life insurance money for Kazui, and she sunk most of the rest of the money into the shop, which she named Halcyon Cafe and Gifts.

She still wasn’t able to do it all on her own. Old acquaintances came out of the woodwork for Ichigo’s funeral. One such acquaintance was her fellow Fullbringer, Riruka Dokugamine. They reconnected over coffee and donuts after the funeral, and Riruka agreed to become Orihime’s minority partner in the business, putting some of her own money up front to get it running. It took a few months, but eventually the shop started to gain traction. It was in a good location and appealed to students and ladies with disposable income. There was coffee, tea, and baked goods, which Orihime’s time working at ABCookies had prepared her for. The shop also became a place to come and read, trade, buy, and sell used manga. They also sold plants, flowers, and handmade gifts; things like soaps, candles, towels, aprons, small decorative items, knitted accessories and jewelry from local crafters. It wasn’t long before Halcyon was considered a trendy place to visit. Professionally, Orihime’s life was never better.

Personally, it was never worse. Not only was she terribly lonely without Ichigo, but Kazui was angry. Angry with her for selling his childhood home and uprooting him to another part of town. Angry with her for discouraging his Shinigami activities. Angry that his daddy was gone. He was just a little boy, but he was starting to grow up. He was at an age where he was questioning Orihime’s authority. Instead of studying, he’d go run off to hang out with the Vizards. Orihime was too busy with work to chase him down every time, and he started getting into trouble in school by the end of the year. Orihime’s friends and in-laws has their own things going on, so she had to depend on her employees or Riruka whenever Kazui would get into trouble with a teacher for not completing assignments or getting into fights. It wasn’t just that Kazui was angry at his mother; he also suffered the same fate as his parents. He stuck out like a sore thumb with his brightly-colored hair. That and the fact that he only had one living parent made him the subject of bullying.

Orihime never forgot the day her precious boy came home with a black eye. That was the day she decided enough was enough. Kazui needed more discipline than she was able to provide on her own, and he needed to learn self-defense in a way that wouldn’t get him in trouble at school or with Soul Society. She enrolled him in the local dojo that Ichigo and Tatsuki, and later Orihime herself, had attended when they were children. At first Orihime had Kazui studying aikido, but it wasn’t long before he bored of it and started begging Orihime to let him practice kendo. He was a Shinigami, afterall; skill with a sword would be an asset later in life, he argued.

Orihime finally agreed that when he turned ten years old, he could switch to a kendo school instead of aikido lessons. The compromise pleased Kazui so much that he kissed her cheek and gave her a big hug like he used to when he was littler. Orihime treasured that moment, and when she laid in bed alone that night, she sobbed into her pillow, lamenting the loss of her innocent boy and her husband. Lamenting her perceived failures as a mother and wife. Lamenting the fact that one day, sooner than she would like, her little boy would grow up and she would spend the rest of her life alone. It seemed fitting to her that she would; she grew up alone, it only made sense that she would grow old alone. It was that bitter realization that sent her to sleep that night.

***

Two more years passed by. Ulquiorra threw himself into his work and raising his daughter. He kept his social interactions to a minimum, barely contacting or speaking to parents when it was warranted. He would be okay with this. He had spent centuries alone. He never had any Fraccion. He never wanted anyone else’s company. 

On Eri’s tenth birthday, September 23rd, Ulquiorra stood in the doorway of her room and watched her sleep. He knew he would do anything for his child. Everytime she looked at him she would break into a smile. Everytime she would whisper that she loved him and hugged him, he’d melt.

A pang went through his heart. 

He would have to explain things that he really had no right to be explaining. He knew nothing of how females worked. He would have been better off had Eri been a boy. She would never have a mother. There would never be a female influence in her life. 

This revelation stemmed from one person. It went back over a decade ago. 

Why had Orihime Inoue entered his life? Why had Yuko come into his life? 

With a sigh, he turned from the door and went to his own room to grade papers. He had promised himself that he wouldn’t think of those two women and what they had done to him. Granted, Inoue was a human while he had been a monster. Yuko had just played him for a fool, using him. He slept uneasily that night, tossing and turning; dreaming about reaching out to a woman with red hair and being unable to touch her.

He awoke the next morning, looking rough, eyeing himself in the bathroom mirror. He’d have to go on with life, just like everyone else did.

And life did go on for him and Eriko, the same as always, until the last day of the school term. Ulquiorra received a phone call. It was Urahara.

“Ah, Cifer. I need to talk to you.”


	3. Chapter 3

Ulquiorra gripped his daughter’s hand tightly as they rode the train to Karakura. He had not seen this place in years. He didn’t really think about it anymore. It was silly because he’d be spending a lot more time in this town. 

Since the population was aging, towns consolidated to pool tax money. That meant restructuring. That meant school closures. It was just his luck that the school he was transferred to was in Karakura. It was in his favor that he’d be teaching fourth year students and Eri was on his roster of students. 

When he arrived at the shoten proclaiming that it sold candy and trinkets, Eri looked at her father and then back at the building. “Are you sure we’re at the right place?” she asked with a wary glance at the dusty windows and dark interior.

“This is the place,” he said absently, thinking about the time he had to shadow the human girl all those years ago. How many times had she walked into this place to find some obscure candy or food to try? By the end of the month, the then-Arrancar thought she practically lived at the place if she wasn’t with her friends.

“We should leave,” Eri mumbled. “I could text my friend! She said there was a cute cafe in Karakura that had the yummiest cakes and delicious tea!”

Ulquiorra had to refrain from sighing at his child. She had a personality of her own and he had to deal with that. “I must do this errand first, Eriko. I cannot put it off any longer.”

They walked up to the building and slipped inside the door, sliding it shut and stomping off their feet to not track dirty gravel through the shop. 

“Ah, there you are. I thought I felt--” Urahara came into view, cane thumping along the floor. He stopped speaking once he saw Ulquiorra was not alone. His eyes darted from the former Arrancar to the child and back. “Who is this?”

Shifting his stance and placing his body between Eri and Urahara, Ulquiorra stared at the man. “She is my daughter. I produced a child.”

“What?”

“Eriko is my child. Her mother and I--” Ulquiorra looked at the blond man and shook his head, unable to explain. Maybe he should have let Eri go off with her friends to explore the wonders of being a child. 

Urahara gave him a smile, eyes hidden by his worn bucket hat. Ulquiorra could tell by the tone of his voice he was worried. “Has she...” The questions was left unasked.

Ulquiorra shook his head, wishing he had not pulled his hair back into sloppy ponytail. He wanted to hide behind the wall of black hair. 

“A child. Well then, I guess, I needed to recheck your--”

“You seem shifty,” Eri finally said and peered around her father’s arm.

“You seem very observant and smart,” Kisuke replied, beaming at her.

“Let’s get this over with,” Ulquiorra said.

Eriko was left in a room where the floor was covered in tatami mats at a low table with a cup of tea which she didn’t touch. She didn’t trust the guy her father went off with. Maybe this tea was some kind of potion and would turn her into a frog or some cursed being. Maybe it would make her sleep for a thousand years. She didn’t know and she wasn’t going to find out.

***

Once they were down in the basement of the building, Ulquiorra looked at Urahara. “I was not made aware that this gigai could produce offspring,” he stated in a clipped tone. 

“Neither was I, Cifer. Neither was I. I didn’t think it was possible. However, I do believe I need to speak to someone about this. If something were to happen to her--”

Ulquiorra cut him off swiftly. “Nothing will happen to my daughter! She hasn’t exhibited anything. She’s a perfectly normal child. She sings. She laughs. She falls in love with those stupid looking boys on television.”

“I still think it would be prudent to give Isshin Kurosaki a call. There are tests he can run on both of you. I can only maintain your gigai and regulate your spiritual pressure.”

The name hit him in the face like a fist. Kurosaki.

Kurosaki.

_Kurosaki_ …

“What does Isshin Kurosaki know about anything?”

“What does Isshin Kurosaki know about Hollow-Shinigami-Quincy-Human hybrids?” Urahara replied with a small smirk. “Everything. He created one.”

He created one? Then it dawned on him. 

Ichigo Kurosaki. The hollowfied human who had defeated him. The Shinigami with the mask. He was born that way? Could it be possible that Eri would be like him?

Ulquiorra shook his head. Yuko had no trace of spiritual pressure. He would have known. He would have felt it.

***

Orihime was exhausted. The last day of the school year had been earlier that month, and not only did she have her hands full with a bored nine, nearly ten-year-old, she also had a shop full of students off from school with pockets full of spending money. It was good for her business but bad for her burgeoning headache.

“Riruka!” Orihime called. “Riruka! Riruka, could you please answer the phone?”

The maid-cafe-wannabe woman rolled her eyes and sauntered over to the landline with a put-out expression before she picked up the receiver. “Halcyon Cafe and Gifts, how may I help you?”

Orihime scoffed. She could beg, plead, and attempt to negotiate with her business partner, but Riruka always had this attitude like she was doing her a favor. It was like having another child. One who was older than her.

“Satomi-chan, I’ve got to go upstairs for a minute, you’re in charge until I get back down!” Orihime said with a small smile to one of her part-time cafe workers, then left through the backdoor to go upstairs to her and Kazui’s apartment. He was grounded, and she needed to make sure he was still in his room doing his make-up work. He had fallen behind in Japanese and Orihime told him that he had to practice ten new kanji today before he could watch television.

When she opened the door, she heard the familiar sounds of Don Kanonji blaring through the television speakers. “Kazui, did you finish--”

“YES, Mom,” Kazui cut her off with a groan. “I left it all on the counter.”

Orihime closed her eyes for a moment and counted to ten in her head, breathing slowly. The last thing she needed was to lose her temper and snap at her son. He had been trying. His participation at the dojo had been paying off and his attitude had slowly become more respectful at home. She approached the counter to look over the assignment she had given him and smiled. He hadn’t done it perfectly, but he had indeed done it.

“Do you want some lunch, Monkey?”

A grumble. “Don’t call me that, Mom.”

Orihime walked up behind the sofa and put her hands on her son’s shoulders. “You’ll always be my little monkey,” she said to him and kissed the top of his head before walking back to the kitchen.

Kazui blushed and ruffled his hair after his mother left his space. He would never admit to her that he loved it when she did that.

***

Urahara called Isshin Kurosaki even after Ulquiorra declined the offer. He was pissed when the Shinigami-turned-doctor appeared in the basement. “We do not need your help! Eriko is normal. All you’re supposed to be doing is checking to see if this gigai is holding up!” he seethed as the men stood across from him. He never really got angry unless it was a direct threat to him or something he had no control over. 

He had gotten angry at Kurosaki because the boy hadn’t realized that he had won. He had been beaten so many times and Ulquiorra was the victor. The orange-haired asshole should have stayed dead. He was becoming angered because these two men were threatening his way of life and his offspring.

He could feel his spiritual pressure growing. His skin felt too tight as his face tried to contort into a sneer.

“Cifer, you need to calm down. You’re going to break your gigai.”

“If I break it you’ll just give me another one and this one will be made to my specifications!” He said after a few moments. It took several deep breaths and the thought of his daughter to let the anger ebb away. 

Isshin Kurosaki still remained in the room. Maybe Ulquiorra should give him a chance. “What’re the chances of Eri becoming a freak like your son?”

“It really depends,” the older man said. “Ichigo had a special set of circumstances.”

“What were those?”

“His mother was a Quincy who had been infused with a Hollow. Masaki was injured by one of Aizen’s creations,” Isshin answered.

Oh. Ulquiorra looked at Urahara who was gesturing that he should sit on the exam table, which he did, slowly. “Why did she not die?”

The former Shinigami placed his hands in his pockets and shrugged. “I saved her life.”

He really wanted to scoff at how sentimental all this was. Ulquiorra sat in silence though. “Okay what are the chances?”

“Did the mom have some kind of special ability or power?”

“Yuko is a normal woman. Completely human.”

Urahara was now rubbing his chin. “I’d like to meet this woman. When can you bring her by?”

A snarl rang out in the room. “Yuko is no longer around. She had no wish to stay with me. Eriko and I have been without her since my daughter was three months old.”

The unspoken apology hung in the air like dark clouds. Ulquiorra refused to answer any more questions and the doctor left. Still, the memories that had assaulted him stung. He had made it quite clear to Yuko that he did not date. He had no interest in her other than friends. This was true up until that night. Then he realized what he had after it was gone. How had they created a life?

He was shaken from his thoughts as Urahara started asking him questions about the new gigai. What did he want? What was wrong with the old one?

About three hours later he was shrugging his t-shirt onto the new body and buckling the belt on his jeans. It would be an adjustment to get used to the newness of this one. He had requested that the black four be placed on his chest along with that black circle which was now barely visible just below his collar. He also demanded that Urahara remove whatever it was that created children from the body.

Ulquiorra didn’t need anymore surprises popping up. Not that he was going to go out and find someone to do things with, he just didn’t want it to be an issue.

When he emerged from the basement, Eri’s face lit up like a candle and Ulquiorra afforded her a small smile. Urahara wanted to see him in three years, informing Ulquiorra that having a gigai was like having a car, and next time not to wait so long before servicing it.

“Did you want to go to that cafe, Eri?”

“Well there’s a cat cafe we can go to instead if you’re not up for being around cute things, Dad.” The expression on the girl’s face said quite the opposite. She wanted to go and eat the delicious sweets and drink tea.

“We can go.”

The walk didn’t take long and Ulquiorra had mixed feelings as he looked up at the sign that declared that this was the location of Halcyon Cafe and Gifts. Where had he seen that word before? As Eriko began to walk into the shop, Ulquiorra almost pulled her back from the entrance. She just looked at him as he stood on the pavement.

“Dad?”

“Hmmm?”

“Are you okay? You seem upset today. Is this about Yuko?”

His green eyes landed on his daughter. He had never held back information from Eriko. She asked why she didn’t have a mother, and Ulquiorra told her the facts. He told her why people ridiculed her for only having one parent and green eyes. Eriko vowed to never to call the woman who gave birth to her by the sacred words of mom or mother. 

It was a bold statement for such a young child, but Ulquiorra had been proud of the girl, because she understood. He just wished that she didn’t have to understand. It was for that reason that he walked into the cafe after her.

“Irrashaimaseeeee” all three members of the staff on the floor called out in unison as the bell on the door tinkled, announcing the new customers’ arrival. The part-timer, Satomi, approached Ulquiorra and Eriko and bowed. “Welcome to Halcyon Cafe and Gifts. To your right is the cafe, to your left is the gift shop. Behind me are the used manga. Feel free to look around and read at your leisure. If you need any help, my name is Satomi!” The young woman bowed again and smiled, wider for Eri than for Ulquiorra, and then went back behind the cash register.

The girl jumped up and down a couple times and clapped her hands with joy. She smiled at her father and then looked around. “Can we get a snack first?” Eri asked, the enthusiasm evident in her words.

Ulquiorra nodded and followed his daughter, who was still going on about wanting to visit other cafes. This was his first time inside of one, having managed to avoid these types of places in the past. 

“There’s a vampire cafe, a kawaii monster cafe, a Moomin cafe--”

“What’s a Moomin?”

Eri rolled her eyes, clearly embarrassed by her father. “Don’t worry about it. My point is there are a lot of cafes around Tokyo. They even have dating cafes!”

The green-eyed man’s lip curled slightly. “I suppose they have that pink puffball video game character cafe too.”

“Kirby? Yeah! There’s also a Pokemon--” Eri stopped when she saw the display case with various baked goods inside of it. “Oh!”

He saw his daughter’s green eyes become wide as the impending sugar coma was becoming more of a goal for her. He sighed. “They also have soft serve.”

“Oh!! Dad! Please can we get one of everything?” 

It was times like this that Ulquiorra wished he was rich enough to give his daughter whatever she wanted. Unfortunately he was just a simple school and kendo teacher. “No, you’re not going to stuff yourself full of junk and skip out on nutritious food.” He pulled a bill from his wallet and handed it to the young girl. “Go knock yourself out. I’m going to look at the gift section. I need to get something for Sato-san when we visit. We also have to go see Auntie soon.”

He heard the heavy sigh the girl emitted. Sato had been a wonderful stand-in of a grandmother, but Eriko did not like Sato’s sister. She was the reason why Sato, Ulquiorra, and Eri had left Kanagawa; her health had been failing but the woman wasn’t dead yet.

It wasn’t fair that Sato was taken from them so early in life. She should have been watching Eri today while he was out and about. There were a lot of shoulds that never happened though. He should have been an Arrancar still. He should have been in the fourth tower with Orihime and pondering what the heart was. He should have been with Yuko, raising their child together. 

Giving a disgusted sigh at himself, Ulquiorra wandered over to where the plants were situated. They all looked so well taken care of.

“Can I help you?” The voice sounded bored, its owner not especially pleased to be there as she twirled a raspberry-colored pigtail around a finger.

“Uh, I’m looking for a gift--a plant to get an elderly woman,” Ulquiorra said.

“See anything you like? If you need assistance I’ll have to get the big boss.”

Well this woman was about useless. He frowned and looked at the greenery. “I was hoping for a recommendation,” he stated.

“Okay, hold on,” the woman said, grabbing a broomstick and climbing up a stepstool. Ulquiorra watched as she took the broomstick by the base and started banging the top of it at the ceiling. “Hime! Hime! Come down, there is a plant guy here!”

A pair of feet hit the floor above the ceiling and could be heard walking away. The woman with the pigtails smiled and climbed down the stepstool as if her behavior was completely normal, then said, “Kurosaki-san will be right with you,” before walking away.

Kurosaki? Kurosaki-san? Why did he keep hearing that name today? Panic tried to worm it’s way up Ulquiorra’s throat as he looked for the closest exit before remembering he was here with his daughter and it wouldn’t do to just leave her in a cafe in a city they didn’t really know. He had to calm down. The name Kurosaki was probably common. It was a dime a dozen like the name Ito or another one he couldn’t conjure at the moment. Ulquiorra turned around and pretended to study the plants.

“Sorry to keep you waiting,” the shop owner said in a somewhat breathless voice as she tied a pair of apron strings around her waist and approached him. “How can I help you?” she asked when she was done, providing her potential customer with a warm, welcoming smile.

Ulquiorra’s eyes slid shut as he heard her voice. It was a voice he hadn’t heard in seventeen years. Damn. Had he been a human for that long? It didn’t seem like it. Would she even remember him? If he turned around right now, would she be in shock? He decided to speak first. “I’m looking for a plant to gift to an elderly woman,” he replied. “Your previous employee was rather unhelpful in this endeavor.”

The diminutive woman sighed. “I’m sorry about Riruka. She is good with the younger kids but she has yet to understand that the customer is god. And, she’s my business partner so I can’t just fire her,” Orihime laughed. “Anyway, what a nice idea to gift a plant to an elderly person,” she said in a warm, almost affectionate tone. “Is she in poor health? Would it be better to get her something very low maintenance?”

Did this woman not know who she was talking to? Ulquiorra turned around to stare at the person addressing him. It almost took his breath away. Fuck. It was Orihime Inoue. She looked older and exhausted. Her smile still could blind a man, though. “Oh,” he said without meaning to.

Orihime blinked at him, watching his eyes as he looked her over. It wasn’t anything she wasn’t used to. She was an attractive woman, and she had come to accept that. People were going to react how they reacted. She cleared her throat and smiled again at the black-haired, foreign-looking customer. “So, maybe a succulent would be best?”

He wasn’t paying attention to her talking. Ulquiorra was lost in his own world at the moment, staring at and studying the woman. “The Winter War… Yet… You’re not scared,” he mumbled. How could she not be scared of him when Ulquiorra had shown her what a monster he was? To be fair, he probably didn’t look anything like the Arrancar he had been. He shook his head, breaking his thoughts. “Um, sure.”

Orihime’s smile faltered and her eyes widened. She took a step closer toward her customer and whispered, “Winter War? Who _are_ you?”

A scoff left his mouth. “What do you mean who am I?”

Now she was worried. What if there was another meaning to the phrase? What if some video game or movie franchise that she was out of touch with had used the name? “I’m sorry, I’m, maybe I’m confusing you with someone else. I’m always doing things like that, silly me!” she said, punching herself lightly on the head near her aquamarine hairpins. The smile returned to her face and she took a step back. “Excuse me. Now, we were talking about plants. If you’ll follow me over here I think we have some good options. Would you prefer one that flowers or just a green plant?”

Ulquiorra huffed. She was confusing him with someone else? As far as he knew he was the only person like him. She was the only person he knew that had powers like she had. She could reject death for fuck’s sake! He had to calm down. Being the loyal lapdog he had been as an Espada, Ulquiorra followed her, randomly picking a plant. “I’ll take this one,” he stated with the small pot in his hand. He had no clue what kind of plant he picked out or if Sato’s sister would like it.

“Oh,” Orihime said with a cringe. “I don’t think that one is such a great idea, Sir. I was thinking maybe an African Violet or a Christmas Cactus?”

“I said this one is fine. Personally I don’t really care what kind of plant it is,” he replied, becoming annoyed by her use of sir.

Orihime shrunk slightly, tapping her index fingers together. “Oh, alright. I’m sorry, it’s just that one is called Mother-in-Law’s-Tongue and if you give it to an older woman she might think you are trying to tell her that she talks too much and you want her to stop… Or die...” Orihime sighed and looked down as she wiped her hands off on her apron. They always got sweaty when she had awkward moments with customers. “Anyway, I’m sure your recipient won’t know that, I’m getting carried away. Would you like it gift-wrapped?”

This was not the same woman he had come to know in Hueco Mundo. What happened to the same human who had the audacity to slap him? Who was this awkward creature standing before him? “What happened to you?”

“Me?” She looked up into this mysterious man’s eyes and her head tilted to the side as she studied him. “Have we met? Are you-- Did you know my husband?”

“Your husband? You got married?”

Her eyelids fell low enough to shroud her eyes from him. “I did, you didn’t know?” her hand unconsciously went to the spot on her left hand where a ring used to reside. “I guess, then, that you don’t know that he passed away two years ago.”

It was Ulquiorra’s turn to feel awkward. “My apologies,” he said and shoved a bill into her hand. It was way too much for the plant, but Ulquiorra didn’t care. He felt like an ass. He had to gather Eri and leave. Using his long legs, it took him less than five seconds to find his daughter who was sitting at a table talking to a boy with bright… _orange…_ hair.

Not only did Orihime Inoue marry Ichigo Kurosaki, but she had produced a child with him. His mouth formed into a thin line as he grabbed his daughter by the arm and dragged her out of the shop with her protesting the entire time.

The shop owner came running out after them. “Sir! Sir! Your change!” 

He ignored the woman and kept walking until they reached the train station. It was his daughter who called him out on his poor behavior. “You were rude,” she stated, crossing her arms over her chest. “Aren’t you always telling me not to be rude?”

Ulquiorra scowled at Eriko for a moment before crossing his arms over his chest. His daughter did not deserve his ire. It wasn’t her fault. She caused none of this.

“What did that woman do to you?”

  
  
He didn’t answer the kid. He couldn’t tell her that the woman who had chased after them had broken his heart the first time.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapters 4-7 are for UlquiHime Week 2019 Day 4: Haunting

The first day of fourth grade was not easy for Kazui. Despite doing the work his mother had tasked him with diligently, he found it difficult to follow along with his Japanese teacher. In his art class, a kid snipped off a piece of his carrot-red hair while the teacher’s back was turned. It was Kazui who was sent to the teacher’s room when he turned around to confront the kid about it.

He sat there, gnawing on his cuticles, one leg doing a small jig, as he waited for his homeroom teacher to get out of class and yell at him. All he wanted to do was go back to class and then eat lunch. He was always so, so hungry.

His mother had told him it was a result of having such a high level of spiritual pressure. He didn’t really care why, he was much more interested in keeping the hunger pangs at bay. 

If there was one thing that brightened this otherwise terrible day, it was that the girl he had met in his mom’s cafe was transferred to his school and was in his homeroom class. Kazui liked Eriko. She was nice and friendly. She reminded him of his mom. She also looked different and didn’t quite fit in, just like him. He was hoping that maybe she had some cool, foreign food packed in her lunchbox that she might let him try. Maybe she would have leftovers. Maybe he would have a new best friend. He was falling into a daydream when he heard his name being barked at him.

Ulquiorra sighed as he walked into the teacher’s room and spied that head of orange hair waiting for him. “Kurosaki!” he said in annoyance as he moved towards the boy. His mouth turned down into a frown. “What did you do?”

Kazui stood at attention and bowed. “Nothing, Cifer-sensei! I was in art class and the kid behind me cut some of my hair off! Look!” the boy plead his case with earnest enthusiasm, pointing out a shorter bit of hair near the back of his head.

It did look out of place, but honestly the kid’s hair was just as messy as his father’s had been, sticking out everywhere. Ulquiorra rubbed a hand over his face. He knew that the Kurosaki child had trouble. He had heard the stories about this kid. With a few more years acting this way he’d become the stuff of legends. “You know that this is going to happen don’t you? You don’t look like them. My daughter has the same problem. Even I have had that problem. You need to learn to control yourself and figure out how to redirect your ire somewhere else. A strongly worded letter works in a pinch.”

“But, a letter isn’t gonna give me my hair back! My mom is gonna freak out,” the boy said, looking guilty. He knew his mother was struggling just as he was, and he didn’t make it any easier on her.

“So just punch the kid after school,” Ulquiorra muttered and went to sit down at his desk. “I don’t mean that, so don’t do it. You have an entire head of hair. She probably won’t even notice it’s gone. I’m going to give you another chance, but if I see you in here again, I will call your mother.” He hoped the kid took him up on this deal because the teacher did not want to talk with Orihime Kurosaki. The last time they met hadn’t gone well.

“You obviously don’t know my mom very well, she notices _everything,_ ” Kazui muttered, then stood at attention and said in a loud, proper voice, “Thank you Cifer-sensei! Am I excused?”

It was on the tip of his tongue to refute the boy’s statement but Ulquiorra nodded. “One more chance, got it? You’re excused, Kurosaki.”

***

Kazui stood outside the classroom for a moment, swallowing and gathering his courage before he turned into the room and grabbed his bento, then approached the new girl’s desk, eyeing her lunchbox. “Hey, Eriko, um, did you bring a lunch?” _Stupid_ , he thought to himself and closed his eyes tightly, waiting for the inevitable rejection.

The girl with green eyes glanced at the boy with funny colored hair. She had met him a week ago at that cafe where she did not get to enjoy her cake because her dad was being spastic. She nodded and opened the bento her dad had packed for her, eyeing the contents. Eriko had told her dad that she was old enough to pack her own meals but he never listened. “Would you like to join me?”

The boys eyes slowly opened and he grinned, nodding as he pulled up a chair and scooted a desk closer to hers. “So, what did you get?” he asked, keenly peering into her bento.

As usual her father packed her a peanut butter and honey sandwich that had been cut into heart shapes. Her dad made a special trip to some grocery store that sold the stuff in small jars every week. Eri didn’t particularly like peanut butter, but she wasn’t going to let her dad know this. She also had some fruit and vegetables. “Just stuff, what about you?” she said. 

“What is that?” Kazui asked, ignoring Eri’s question and pointing toward the sandwich filling. “It looks like natto. Why would you have a natto sandwich?”

“It’s not natto. It’s peanut butter,” Eri said. She lifted one of the hearts, suddenly embarrassed that her father still cut out shapes for her food and handed it to the other kid. “It has honey on it.”

“Oooh,” Kazui said, eyeing the item with envy. “My mom always gives me leftovers from her cafe and last night’s dinner, if there are any. Usually there’s not,” he said with a chuckle and opened his bento. There were cut up cucumbers, a red bean paste bun, a curry bun, a few chicken meatballs, an onigiri, and some strawberries. There was also a small slice of a matcha mousse cake. “Ew, she knows I don’t like this,” Kazui said, wrinkling his nose at the cake. “Do you want it?”

The girl nodded her head with glee. “Do you want this sandwich? I never eat it all. Your lunch looks so different than mine. My dad’s always like balanced diet! Vitamins! Nutrition! Your mom seems a lot more fun if you get cake in your lunch.”

Kazui laughed and handed over the cake before greedily taking the heart-shaped sandwiches she offered. “My mom always talks about that kind of stuff, too, but she also can’t stand to waste food. We’re okay now, but my mom didn’t have a lot of money growing up and we didn’t a few years ago either, so, y’know…” he trailed off, realizing that she probably didn’t care about that.

“It must be nice having a mom,” Eri mumbled as she accepted the piece of cake. “My dad… he hates wasting food too.”

“Yeah, my mom is great, but I miss my dad. So I guess we’re both, like, halfway there?” the boy didn’t really know what he was trying to say and laughed awkwardly.

The girl laughed, which sounded like tinkling chimes, and then blushed. “I’m sorry,” Eriko said quietly as she used her chopsticks to pick at the cake. “So you don’t have a dad?”

Kazui answered with a full mouth, muffling, “No, he died right after I turned eight. He was saving a kid from being hit by a truck, though!” Kazui always tried to make his father sound like a hero, because to him, he was. It didn’t matter what the other stupid kids in school said.

“Oh,” was all Eriko said. She smiled politely before picking up the other sandwich. “Do you want some fruit too?”

Kazui’s stomach was screaming yes, but the echo of his mother’s voice in his ear made him double check before accepting, “Um, only if you’re not going to eat it,” he answered.

She blushed again and pushed the dish towards the other boy. She never ate all the stuff her father gave her. Besides, she was going to be naughty and eat this cake for lunch. “Go ahead. Maybe tomorrow we can eat together too?”

The boy’s eyes lit up. “OH! Yeah, that would be great. I can ask my mom to send some extra cake, if you want. Was there anything from that time you came to the cafe that you wanted to try? I can sneak some,” he offered in a hushed, conspiratorial voice.

“Any cake will do,” she said. Eri leaned forward and whispered back, “I really like sweets but Grumpy Pants-sensei doesn’t want me to eat them.” She nodded her head at her dad who entered the room.

Dark brown eyes flickered toward his teacher and Kazui quickly sat back up. He smiled, and through clenched teeth, asked, “He’s your _dad_?”

“Yeah,” Eriko glanced at the boy and then back at her dad. “You didn’t get that? My name is Eriko Cifer.”

Kazui’s bottom lip pulled down on one side. “Er, nope. I mean, I guess I didn’t notice. But now that you mention it, that was him who pulled you out of Halcyon the other day, wasn’t it? My mom was really upset about it. She said he acted like she had some kind of disease.”

The girl frowned and nodded. Now she was really embarrassed. Her dad’s behavior was baffling sometimes. “We were in Karakura to see a man named Urahara. Afterwards, my dad took me to that cafe. He didn’t want to be there. He was rude to your mom.”

“Hey, don’t worry about it. We get all kinds of weird people in the shop all the time. My mom was more bothered by something he said, but she didn’t tell me what it was. I think she’s over it though. Anyway, that name you said sounds familiar… Urahara… Ura-- Oh yeah. That’s the same name as my grandpa’s friend. He is we--eird.”

“I don’t like him. He’s shifty. Reminds me of a fox,” Eri said as she shoved another bite of cake into her mouth as her dad left the room again. “Did you get into a lot of trouble for disturbing class?”

It was Kazui’s turn to blush. “No, Cifer-sen-- your _dad_ said he would give me another chance. He seems kind of scary but he was kind of cool about it. Most teachers just scream at me and call my mom.”

“To be fair, he seems scary but he’s not. The next time though, you might get a stern lecture. He really gives people three chances,” Eri said with a smile. It was nice to have someone who didn’t think she was strange just because she had different colored eyes. The pads of her fingers started rubbing together, a gesture she had picked up from her dad. “Would you want to come over or we can go play at the park one day?”

Kazui grinned brightly and nodded. “Yeah! What do you like to do? I mean, I like a lot of stuff, so, it’s probably gonna be easy to get along,” he said, trying to act a bit cool.

She could have jumped up and down. Eriko finally made a friend… A real friend, not someone who mocked her and whispered about her. “Um, well, I like to run and swing and play sports. I like to do puzzles and read. I like playing video games and eating sweets. I like other stuff but you wouldn’t be interested in it.”

The redhead nodded along with her as she rattled of her list of favorite activities, finding no objection until she got to the end of it. “Wait a second, what wouldn’t I be interested in?”

Eriko rolled her eyes. “Dolls and girly stuff, unless you’d let me braid your hair!” She laughed.

“Uhhhhhh, it’s kinda short, don’t you think?” he asked, putting a hand to his head.

Her lips pursed and moved to one side of her face. Her dad let her braid his hair all the time, but then again, his hair was pretty long. Even when he got it cut, it never went above his shoulders. Finally Eriko nodded. “Hairclips,” she said.

“Hairclips?” he had no idea what she was talking about.

She was teasing him but it was funny to see him get confused. “Nothing, I’ll leave your hair alone,” Eri said with a smile.

He smiled back, and without thinking much, said “Maybe if you come over to my house someday my mom will let you braid her hair. It’s REALLY long.”

This statement brightened Eri’s entire face. “Really? My hair is long too. My dad won’t let anyone cut it. Everyday I have to put it up. One of these days I’m going to demand that it gets cut!”

Kazui laughed along with her fighting spirit. “Well, if you do, don’t cut it too short. Your hair is really pretty, like my mom’s.” It was an innocent statement. Kazui just called it like he saw it.

With the mention of his mom, Eriko had to wonder what her mother was like. She sighed and then politely smiled at Kazui. “Thank you for the cake and for being nice,” she said.

Kazui wasn’t the most emotionally observant boy; he was Ichigo Kurosaki’s son, afterall, but still, he noticed that something had changed in his classmate’s demeanor. “Hey, um, I’m sorry, I mean, your hair is way prettier than my mom’s,” he said, trying to salvage the mood. It would be just his luck that he had said something to offend her.

“It’s not that but thank you.”

“Um, you’re welcome,” Kazui said in an unsure voice and stood up, returning to his desk with a sigh.

“Tomorrow? We can go to the park tomorrow, if that’s okay.” Eriko hoped she hadn’t ruined anything.

“Um, okay! There’s one around here, near my grandpa’s house. Wanna go there?” Kazui perked up at her specific offer.

She nodded and cleaned up the mess from lunch.

***

Ulquiorra saw his daughter talking to Kurosaki. They were both different, but it made sense that they would stick together. It would either help or hinder them. They could be bullied more or they could put forth a united front and show their classmates they had picked the wrong people to mess with. 

He didn’t like the possibility that this friendship could also mean that he would see Orihime again. Why didn’t she remember him? How could she not remember or realize who he was? He had held her captive for days, maybe even weeks. He didn’t know; he had little concept as to what time was while in Hueco Mundo. With a sigh, he collected his bag looked around for his daughter only to realize she probably went skipping along with her new friend. 

He found his daughter sitting on the steps, waiting for him. “Where is your friend?”

Eri looked up at her father. “He had to go home. We made plans for tomorrow. Can I go to the park and play?”

“Which park?”

The girl shrugged as she stood. “I have no clue. Kazui says it’s close by his grandfather’s house.”

His eyes narrowed. “The Karakura Community Park?” Ulquiorra remembered that park all too well. It was the same park he arrived in. It was the same place he had first seen Orihime and called her trash. He was going to have Yammy kill her. The teacher felt sick to his stomach, wondering if it was too late to be transferred to a different school or city. “Ready to go home?”

***

Kazui came home in a more chipper mood than usual. Orihime noticed him skip through the shop and go upstairs, and she followed shortly afterward.

“You look like you’re in a good mood, how was your first day with your new teacher?”

“It was really, really good, Mom. Oh! I made a new friend. She’s a girl and--”

Orihime’s eyes narrowed as she cut him off. “A girl, huh? What’s her name?” she asked, putting her hands on her hips and resting her weight on one foot.

“Oh, um, Eriko. Eirko Cifer. She’s, um, my new homeroom teacher’s daughter.”

“Oh, I see,” Orihime said slowly, nodding her understanding. She thought it was cute that he had a little girlfriend, but she was still a mama bear. She wanted to make sure this was all on the up and up. “So, is this Eriko pretty?”

“Um, yeah, I guess. She has long hair like yours. It’s black, though. Um, her eyes are green. I guess her dad’s foreign.”

“Yes, I would imagine so with a name like Cifer. So, is she nice?”

“Oh, yeah. She shared her bento with me. Her dad makes her these heart-shaped peanut sandwiches. They looked really weird, like they were made out of natto! I thought it was gross but she let me have one and it was actually really good. Oh! Can I have an extra piece of cake for her tomorrow? We’re going to the park by grandpa’s house after school.”

Orihime chuckled and approached her son, wrapping her arms around him and kissing the top of his head. It was getting harder and harder to do; he was growing like a weed. “Of course it’s okay. I want you to bring her over here some day and we can have something sweet in the cafe together. Maybe her mom and dad can come, too?” Orihime asked.

“Oh, no, Eriko doesn’t have a mom. Don’t talk about it either, she gets kinda sad. But I’ll ask her to come!”

Orihime hummed into his hair and hugged him tighter. “I love--”

“Yeah, Mom. Me too. Let me go, I gotta pee,” Kazui grumbled as he got loose and ran to the bathroom.

Orihime sighed, watching him go. She was glad for him. He had such trouble making friends. And maybe a female friend would encourage him to be more cautious. She could only hope.

***

“No, I’m sorry I can’t stay, Isshin. Kazui’s in the park with a friend and I want to see them before they leave.”

“But Hime-chan,” the older man whined. “You never come around anymore and I always have to eat late with grumpy old Karin!”

“I’m older than Karin, Isshin,” Orihime said, slipping her feet into her shoes. “I promise we’ll stop by again soon, alright?”

“Yes, my darling daughter. Let me hold you to my bosom. You never know,” Isshin said softly, grabbing Orihime up into a bearhug before letting her slip out the door with a nod.

Orihime jogged over to the park, then stood near the entrance, trying to be discreet. At first she didn’t see the kids.

Eriko had climbed a tree and was hiding from Kazui. She had gone to a clearing on the edge of the park to hide. She really liked the boy’s company. He was funny. He knew when to be quiet. He was smart… Kind of. He seemed to be kind of oblivious to other things though. She was planning on scaring him if he got close enough.

“Eri!” the boy shouted. “This is getting boring! You’re too good at hiding!” He was standing under the tree she was hiding in, walking around in a slow circle and shouting at nothing. “Come on, give me a hint!”

She whistled softly before jumping down from the tree, landing in front of Kazui. Eriko had a smile on her face as she stood up. “Ha! It took you longer that time! I still think you’re some kind of tracker. How else did you find me? Did you sniff me out?”

“Um, kinda, I guess. Only sometimes though. And be careful, you can hurt yourself jumping down from that high! I mean, you’re cool and all but you’re still just a girl.”

Before Eriko could respond, Kazui yelped and swatted at something she couldn’t see. “Get off!” he shouted, spinning around and growling, before whining, “Mom! I know you’re here. Make it stop!”

Orihime smirked and called back Tsubaki before striding out toward the two children. “Do not tell me I heard you tell your friend that she’s “just a girl.” Kazui Kurosaki would never say such a thing, would he?” she asked, arms crossed over her chest.

“Um, no, that’s not what I meant, I’m sorry Eri, I just… I mean, I don’t want you to get hurt is all.”

The girl shook her head and smiled. “It’s okay. My dad would have told me the same thing; to be careful and try not to kill myself. It’s okay though. I always land on my feet. You must be Kazui’s mom. I’m Eriko or Eri.”

“Hello, Eri, my name is Orihime. It’s so nice to meet you,” she said with a bright smile that looked like Kazui’s, then bowed.

“Wow, Kazui. You said your mom was pretty but she’s gorgeous. Like really really pretty,” Eri said. She smiled back at the woman. “Um, the cake from the other day was delicious by the way.”

“Oh, I’m so glad you liked it! Maybe some day soon you can come to my shop and have a fresh piece,” she offered. “Your father is welcome, too. It will be our treat, right Kazui?”

Eriko bit her lip and bowed slightly towards the woman. “I think I must apologize for my father’s behavior the last time we were at your cafe. He’s--he’s hard to deal with sometimes.”

“Oh! It’s no trouble, people have all kinds of reasons to act one way or another. You never know what someone has going on. I didn’t know you had come to the shop, though. And your father was there, too?”

“Yeah, he was talking to you about something and then he dragged me out of the cafe. I was saying hello to Kazui at the time so I didn’t get the chance to order anything,” Eriko told the woman. She bowed again. “As soon as I can, I will make sure that my father and I will visit.”

“Well I look forward to it! I’ll let you two play and if you need anything Grandpa is home., Okay sweetie?” Orihime said, ruffling Kazui’s hair. “Be good, and see you soon!” 

Kazui watched his mom walk away with a small scowl as he fixed his hair. “So, that’s my mom. She’s usually not so embarrassing,” he muttered.

The girl with green eyes watched her friend’s mother walk away. “She’s okay. I bet she’s more forgiving and understanding than my dad. Do you have any brothers or sisters?”

Kazui shook his head. “No, my parents never said anything to me about it, so I don’t know if they were going to but they had me right after they got married and that was it. How about you?”

She shook her head too. “No, my mom left me with my dad when I was young. I was a mistake… At least that’s what my Auntie says.” The girl laughed like it was a joke.

The boy didn’t like the sound of that one little bit. “That’s not nice! You’re not a mistake, Eri, you’re my best friend!” Little kids were quick to make these kinds of distinctions. “My best friend is awesome, not a mistake, and I’ll tell your aunt the same thing,” he declared, putting his fists on his hips and nodding with a disgruntled expression.

It was nice to have someone like Kazui stick up for her. Eri let a small smile show up on her face. “What about pets?”

Kazui’s face fell. “I had a fish but I accidentally killed it. My mom wanted a dog but we watched her friend’s dog once and it barked all the time at the customers, so no pets. I wish we still lived at my old house. My dad was gonna buy me a dog when I turned ten…” Kazui shook his head and redirected the conversation; he didn’t want to become melancholy. “Do you have any?”

“No, Dad says that being attached to things is bad and that pets make messes. He doesn’t want my heart to break if something would happen to an animal. I still remember when my grandmother died. He was pretty upset about it.” Eri sighed, “Do you want to go swing or maybe do another race?”

The boy grinned and tapped her shoulder, “Okay, tag, you’re it!” and took off running.


	5. Chapter 5

Ulquiorra sighed as he looked up at the clock on the wall. He’d been sitting at the kitchen island for hours marking papers while nursing a cold cup of tea. It was Saturday, a little over two weeks after Eri came home babbling about Kurosaki and his mother. It seemed those two went everywhere together. They were like peas and carrots. They seemed perfect companions.

  
  
He was glad that his daughter had made a friend. He just wished it was someone else. Someone whose parent he didn’t have a history with. Someone who wasn’t Orihime Inoue… Kurosaki… He shook his head still trying to reconcile with the fact that the same girl who had slapped him; who had reached out to him and cried; who had unlocked his cold heart was the same woman who had married the Soul Society’s hero, given him a child and was now a widow.

  
  
Hadn’t they shared a moment together? 

Of course, Ulquiorra had not been kind to the girl while she was a captive of Las Noches. He had threatened her. He had killed her husband twice. With a sigh, he pushed himself back from the island and gathered the things he would need to go out. Eri was with Kazui, so this was the perfect time for him to get some grocery shopping done.

He messaged his offspring, telling her what he would be doing before leaving the house. It didn’t take him long to reach the train station. Instead of going to Naruki City, Ulquiorra decided to go to Karakura. It was something he never did, but since Eriko was spending so much time in the place, he might as well check up on her.

***

Isshin Kurosaki was over the moon that his grandson had made such a nice friend, and it didn’t escape his attention that she was cute as a button, either. On this fine Saturday, he had lured the kids away from the park and to the Kurosaki Clinic on the promise that Auntie Yuzu was coming to visit with Kazui’s little cousins, Sakura and Jun.

This was a more attractive proposition to Eri than to Kazui; Sakura drove him up the wall with her demanding, spoiled attitude and Jun was too little to be any fun. Yuzu was a great cook, though, and Isshin had told him she was bringing lunch, so he was convinced. As they walked over to the clinic, Kazui thought it best to warn his best friend. “Now, I want you to know that my grandpa is a total weirdo, so if he does something you don’t like, just tell him or tell me. Also, my cousin Sakura is a snot. Jun is basically just… a baby,” he said with disgust. “Oh! And my Aunt Yuzu is super pregnant. She’s not just fat, so don’t say that if you don’t want to get hit over the head.” He spoke from experience.

Eri smiled at him as her phone buzzed. That had to be her dad. Sure enough, as she brought the phone from her pocket, it showed a text message from him. “My dad’s coming to Karakura for shopping. He says when he’s done he can escort me home. To be fair, I’ve spent more time with you this month than him. He’s kind of boring. All he does is sits at home and reads.”

This made the orange-haired boy thoughtful. “Yeah, maybe he’s lonely. I know my mom gets lonely. When she thinks I’m asleep she cries,” he told her, frowning.

“Oh so I’m not the only one who listens to their parents when they’re sleeping,” Eri flashed a smile at her friend. “My dad… he mumbles in his sleep. He talks about someone named Murcielago. He talks about someone named Grimmjow and Nnoitra and Nel and Szayel. He talks about some guy named Aizen.”

At first Kazui was smirking, thinking that Eri was mistaken, and that her dad was just really obsessed with exotic cars, but then he froze. Aizen. He knew that name. He knew that that name was no good. “A-- Aizen, huh? I’ve heard about a guy with that name. I wonder how common it is.”

She shrugged and put the small phone back into her pocket. “I have no clue if it’s the same man. He also mutters about a war and how he died. He has nightmares but I never say anything about them. He says it’s no good to bring up the past. You know you’re really lucky. You’ve got a big family and all I have is my dad and Auntie.”

The boy blushed and put a hand behind his neck. “Yeah, well, you might not think so after you meet them. May as well get it over with,” he said, opening the front door of his grandfather’s residence. “We’re here, Goatbeard!” Kazui shouted, then said to Eri as an aside, “Head’s up, something might come fly--” he stopped talking as a stethoscope went sailing past his field of vision. “See what I mean?”

“Well if someone called me Goatbeard I’d throw things--Whoa! That guy has a hairy face!” Eri said with a squeal of laughter.

The Kurosaki patriarch approached the two kids in the genkan and wrapped an arm around each, lifting them up like it was nothing and waited as they shook off their shoes, then walked them over to the couch and deposited them there. “So, Eri-chan, what do you think of Kazui? He is a rather charming boy, isn’t he?” the old man asked with a waggle of the eyebrows.

“Don’t harass the kids, Dad,” Yuzu called as she waddled through the room. “Hi Kazui, Hi Kazui’s friend,” she said with a small wave as she made her way to the kitchen.

Wait a minute! Eri tilted her head to the side and studied the man deemed Goatbeard. “I know you! You were at the shifty fox’s candy business!” she said pointing a finger at Isshin. “Kaz is okay. He’s my friend; my best friend. But, he’s still a boy and boys cause trouble.”

“Indeed they do, Eri-chan. Indeed they do. You’re keeping him in line, though, right? Your father would be proud. He was always one to enforce the rules, I think.”

“Yeah, her dad’s our teacher. He’s really strict,” Kazui supplied.

Her father enforced what rules? How did this man know her dad? “He means well, Kazui,” Eri said in a soft voice. “He’s just trying to keep us from getting into more trouble than what we do.”

Her friend sighed. “I know. He’s always telling me the reasons when I get pulled into the office, and I can never argue with him, because he’s _always_ right.” Another sigh. “And he gives me a chance to explain, which is better than my last homeroom teacher did. He just looks so scary when he says it.”

Isshin laughed at that. “Scarier than your dad used to look at you?”

Kazui only looked at him and nodded.

Eriko knew that Kazui had visited the teacher’s room almost every day. She had gotten into several verbal debates with the people who were bullying him. They didn’t pick on Eri all that much. Her uniqueness could be overlooked since she had black hair. Apparently sticking out was a bad thing while in school. Of course, when she had to go talk to her father, her dad always told her that Kazui’s battles were not hers to fight. She needed to learn to let go.

These words of advice did not sit well with the young lady. Kazui was her friend. It wouldn’t be fair to abandon him when they needed each other’s friendship. “I think my dad would much rather have you prove him wrong than call your mom in.” 

“Why? What’s wrong with my mom?” Kazui asked in a guarded voice. If there was one thing that set him off, it was a bad word against his mother. Not even just a bad word. The wrong look, the wrong posture or the wrong anything set him into protect mode.

“Nothing! Your mom is great! I really wish she was my mom but...” Eri looked away from Kazui to the floor. “My dad gets really out of sorts when I mention her, that’s why I don’t think he’ll ever call her unless you start fighting. Which you won’t because I’m there.”

Kazui was not happy about this information. His mother was an angel. How dare Cifer-sensei find anything not to like about her! He crossed his arms over his chest and huffed. “We’ll see, Eri. If somebody picks a fight with me, I won’t back down, you know. I know how to fight. I--” 

Isshin cut him off. “Now, now, Kazui, we know you are a good fighter. Did he ever tell you about the time he took down Ichika, Eri? Ichika was friends with Kazui before she, um, moved away. She was a couple years older and she was a good fighter, too. But our Kaz was too fast for her, weren’t you, boy?” the old man punched his grandson in the shoulder. Hard.

Kazui grumbled and rubbed the spot. “Yeah, I was. And she cheats at everything. Stinkin’ Ichika,” he grumbled, then looked at Eri.

She didn’t mean to feel jealous but the thought that Kazui had a friend before her kind of stung. Eriko smiled at him before directing her attention to Isshin. “My dad taught me how to fight,” she said as if she was commenting on the weather. “I can swing a sword around.”

Both of the Kurosaki males’ eyebrows rose at this information. It was Kazui who spoke, though. “A sword? Your dad has a sword?! That is so cool! My dad had a big sword, too. He taught me how to fight a bit, but my mom said I couldn’t do it whenever she knew. She doesn’t want me to get too caught up in…” he trailed off. He couldn’t tell Eri about him being a Shinigami. It was a secret. Plus it would probably scare her away. “Anyway, my mom told me that when I turn ten I can stop taking aikido classes and switch to kendo, so that’s a bit of waiting,” he groaned.

“He won’t let me touch the thing. It sits on a shelf in his room. It’s really pretty though. It’s a mint color and it’s really sharp,” Eriko replied with a joyous look on her face. “We mostly spar with bokken. He teaches Kendo privately but since he’s moved to a different school, he needs to find new students. Maybe he’d teach you when it comes time!”

Kazui grinned, and then Yuzu called everyone to lunch.

***

“Riruka, why didn’t you tell me… You were supposed to do inventory on Thursday! How are we out of sugar, of all things?”

“Jeez, Orihime. You act like everything is such a big deal.”

Orihime rolled her eyes around and around their sockets, feeling like she must have drunk the crazy smoothie that morning. “Riruka, this is a _cafe_ . We serve _coffee_. We bake _sweets_. You don’t think being out of sugar is a big deal! Honestly!” Orihime tore her apron off and hung it up. “You don’t let the place burn down and I’ll be back with sugar. There are some packets in the back room if customers need some but they won’t last long.”

Orihime left and got into the Halcyon Cafe and Gifts delivery van. Before opening the shop, she had never even considered getting a driver’s license. But, being able to deliver baked goods, gifts, and flowers turned out to be a lucrative part of her business, so she was glad she had forked over the money and took the time to get it. Also, it was a lot easier to haul a couple forty pound bags of sugar in a van than in her arms; the closest grocery store that sold ingredients in bulk was not exactly what one might consider walking distance.

***

Ulquiorra didn’t know why he disrupted his routine. Well, his daughter interrupted it first with her demands at a more diversified lunch. She wanted things like Kazui got in his bento. She wanted meatballs and steamed buns and other goodies that Mrs. Kurosaki made, so he thought he’d give into to her whims for a week. Surely he could do one week out of the month to cater to Eri’s tastes. She was a growing kid. Jars of peanut butter were expensive at the foreign foods market. He rather liked the taste of the stuff but it wasn’t economical to keep feeding it to her when she gave half of her lunch to Kazui every day.

He’d been at this grocery store for longer than he wanted to be in it. He couldn’t find anything. This place wasn’t laid out like the other stores in Naruki City. Since he was there he might as well commit to finishing the errand. Otherwise he’d just frustrate himself further by taking the train to the other town.

Staring at the eggs, he wondered how many cartons to get since Eri had written down on his list that she wanted egg sandwiches for lunch.

  
  
The green-eyed man had no clue what an egg sandwich was. He turned his attention back to her list of foods and sighed.

Orihime had a large cart full of sugar and thought she had better get some heavy cream while she was out. There was a man blocking her path who looked like he was very absorbed in a list. “Excuse me, sir?” she asked sweetly.

His head snapped up at the sound of her voice. If he thought his day was bad from not focusing on grading papers and going shopping to satisfy his princess, Ulquiorra was wrong. He slowly turned his head and stared at the woman with red hair. “Orihime Ino--Kurosaki,” he stated as a greeting.

The woman’s smile grew slowly into a grin as recognition dawned on her. “You’re _Eriko’s_ father! Oh! I still owe you four hundred and thirty-two yen! But oh!” she gushed, abandoning her cart and walking towards the man. “Thank you for teaching Kazui, I’m sorry if he causes trouble, and thank you _so_ much for letting Eriko play, she is such a delight. I just adore her.” She ended her speech with a deep bow, then raised back up, adjusting her hair out of her face. Her grin stayed on her face for a few more seconds before it melted into a smirk. “So, what, did we go to high school together?”

“Yes, I am Eriko’s father and your son’s teacher. You don’t owe me anything. I feel that the moment I rushed out of your shop I forfeited any change I was entitled to,” Ulquiorra explained. He sighed and started rubbing his fingertips together. How could she suggest that they went to high school together? The last time Ulquiorra was in school before he met her as an Espada was well over one hundred and fifty years ago. Instead of answering her he stepped closer to Orihime. “Are you afraid of me?” he asked, throwing the question out there as if it would all make sense to her if he said that to her.

Orihime’s eyebrows raised and her smirk morphed into an amused grin at his new proximity. It wasn’t everyday that young, attractive men invaded her space. Not that this man was any younger than her; if anything he was older. But this town had a dearth of young single men. The only one she knew was Uryu, and he was married to the hospital. Not that Orihime would ever do anything; she had a son and a business to look after, but still, it was nice to be appreciated by a male that wasn’t old enough to be her father or in a high school uniform. When she spoke, her voice was playful. “No, I’m not afraid, should I be?”

“Do you not remember me? You don’t remember what I did to those--” Ulquiorra stopped speaking as he took in her expression. It was quite clear she had no clue who he was. 

“I am absolutely sure I would remember you… You are very, um, distinctive, Cifer-sensei. But you know my name was Inoue… We must have…” she trailed off, and a disturbed tremor made her brows twitch and furrow together. “No, no. That was Tsukishima,” she muttered under her breath. “How do we know each other? I feel like it’s something I’m missing. Like it will come to me in the middle of the night or something.”

Oh. How could he tell her who he truly was? What could he possibly say to her? “We probably met years ago, maybe at a party or something. I’m sorry to bother you with this nonsense.” Ulquiorra hadn’t missed the brief glimpse of vexation that flashed across her face. 

The smile returned to her face and she looked at him as though he could do no wrong. “It’s no bother at all. Really, I think for a minute while I was seventeen, boys were trading photos of me, so maybe that’s how you remember my old name. Nobody’s doing that these days, that’s for sure!” she laughed at herself and then sighed. “Please come to the shop sometime with Eri. She talks about you so much and how she wants you to come, and I think it would be nice if we kept the lines of communication open since our kids are such good buddies. Especially in the case of emergency. I mean, you have my number from the school information I’m sure, and I have your email address, but like, what if a holl- I mean, what if there is a fire or something?” She bit the inside of her cheek at her flub. 

“Hollows?” he asked throwing the word out there. He could feel it when one of them came through a Garganta. He knew where the Shinigami hung out at. It wasn’t his business though, and he ignored it.

The smile fell from her face and her eyes widened in concern. Her hand shot out and pulled down on his shoulder so she could speak near his ear very quietly, not a whisper, no, not a breathy thing like that. She was all business. “You know about hollows?”

He gave her a curt nod. Ulquiorra could see the slight panic in the woman’s eyes and how her tone was urgent. He decided to play dumb. “I mean if Eri falls into a hole, by all means call me or text. Why didn’t you just say hole instead of hollow?” God that sounded lame but she looked close to freaking out and he was not stable enough to deal with that at the moment.

Orihime’s eyes closed for a moment and she shook her head, letting her hand slide down his arm from his shoulder to his elbow. She smoothed out the wrinkle she had left in the fabric of his shirt before using the same hand to pinch the bridge of her nose. “You’re right, sometimes I say the weirdest things. I always have,” she said, throwing in some mirthless laughter at the end. “Sorry, I must seem like the village crazy lady to you.”

That feeling he felt just before he turned to dust flickered in his chest. Her smile… It was doing things to him. Ulquiorra took a step back from the redhead. He took his phone out of the pocket of his jeans and pulled up a new contact page. “Here,” Ulquiorra said, holding the device out to her.

“Oh,” she said, somewhat surprised, and took the phone from him. “You know, I resisted these things for the longest time. I finally got one after Kazui was born. I had a death grip on my beloved flip phone,” she snickered as she put her contact information into his phone. She had entered it as, First Name: Orihime, Last Name: Kazui’s Mom. She smiled as she handed it back to him and then fished her own phone from her front jeans pocket and did the same as he had. 

Ulquiorra took the phone from her and entered his name as Ulquiorra Cifer. He felt weird doing this. What if she called him up one night and decided to drop this charade of not knowing him? “Eri has my old phone. It’s tiny but she only calls and texts me.” 

Orihime pursed her lips and hummed, looking at the phone and nodding a bit. “I haven’t let Kazui have one yet. I’m afraid of him getting into trouble online. Do most kids their age have one?” she asked, her eyes big and round, searching his for an answer with an almost childlike innocence.

“I have no clue. Ever since Sato--Eri’s grandmother--died, I gave it to her. I can check in with her any time I’m not around her. Usually that means she only uses it Saturday and Sunday.” Ulquiorra cleared his throat, not liking how memories assaulted him. He had vivid flashbacks of her face in the Dangai as he killed those Shinigami. “I’m sure you have things to do, so I won’t keep you.”

Hmpf. Fine. Not everybody has to like you, Orihime. Get over yourself. Just make nice with the hot teacher… Orihime cringed. She shouldn’t be thinking that way. She was only doing it to flatter herself anyway. She cleared her throat and smiled, squinting her eyes. “Right, I’m sure you have a lot going on, too. Um, don’t hesitate to call if Kazui gets into trouble, and let Eri know that anytime she wants, you are both welcome at Halcyon,” she turned and strutted back to her shopping cart. “The sugar comes with me,” she said to herself, muttering meaningless words to distract herself from the awkward feelings that were enveloping her.

He furrowed his brows. “I don’t have a lot going on. Just grocery shopping. I was going to pick Eri up,” he said as she passed by him.

She paused. “Oh, do you know where they are today?” She didn’t, she realized, and blushed.

Ulquiorra shook his head. “Eri said something about meeting Kazui,” he replied. “I’m sure they’re keeping out of trouble.”

“Okay, good. I’m sure you would know; you see them together more than I do,” she said with a touch of longing in her voice. “They are growing up so fast.”

His mouth twitched. He saw more of Kazui than he would have liked. A sigh left Ulquiorra. “Yes, children have a tendency to shoot up like weeds and move on faster than parents would like them to.”

She realized she was just making this worse. “Oh, speaking of weeds, I hope your, um, relative? Neighbor? You never said, liked the plant. The kind you chose will grow in the worst kind of conditions, so as long as she waters it about once a month, it should thrive.”

A huff left his mouth. “Auntie hated it. She said exactly what you said. I didn’t deny that she talks too much. I just gave her the plant and left.”

Orihime laughed despite herself. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t laugh,” she said through chuckles, and once again her hand came up to rest on his upper arm for just a moment. She figured this would be the best time to leave, when things were less tense than they had been a moment ago, and before she had too much time to think about how solid his muscle felt through his sleeve. “Well, anyway, if you need a replacement, come by again sometime. Thanks again, Cifer-sensei,” she said with a genuine smile and started to push the cart away.

She always had a thing for honorifics. It made Ulquiorra grit his teeth. “I’ve told you not to use those concerning me,” he muttered.

She heard it and paused. “Hmm? Don’t use what?” She asked from several paces away.

“Never mind. Good day, Mrs. Kurosaki.”


	6. Chapter 6

Eri ran into the classroom on Monday. Her dad helped her make a special bento for today. After he had met her at the Karakura train station and they went home, the man seemed irritated about something. He seemed mad every time the girl mentioned Kazui’s mother. Or anyone in the Kurosaki family.

She tried not to let her father’s moods affect her. It wasn’t her fault he was lonely. When the lunch hour rolled around she smiled at her friend. “So I have news,” she told Kazui.

“Oh yeah? What is it?” he asked with an excited grin as he turned to face his friend.

“Okay, you know how I told you my dad talks in his sleep?” Eri said placing her bento on the desk. “Last night… I heard him again… He kept saying Orihime Inoue.”

Kazui scowled in confusion. “That’s my mom’s name. I mean it was her name, before she got married. Why would he say it?”

Eri shrugged. “Maybe they know each other? Maybe they had secret lives or something! Oh! Wait! Maybe they were friends while in school!”

Kazui worried his lip as she imagined the secret lives that were possibly not to far removed from reality, but sighed in relief at her second suggestion. “Maybe, my mom was called “The Goddess of Karakura” when she was a third year high-schooler. She had lots of admirers, my Aunt Yuzu and Auntie Tatsuki used to tease her about it. That was a long time ago, though.”

“It’s possible that my dad knew your mom. Maybe your dad and my dad had a bad fight over your mom, like that one show on television!”

Kazui was not one for romantic stories, and his upper lip curled a bit at the idea. “What shows do you watch? Why would anyone fight over a girl?”

Eri giggled. “Well I’m not supposed to watch them but there’s this show about people living together and on one episode, there were two guys fighting for a woman’s attention.”

“Weird,” Kazui said in a flat voice. “Maybe your dad just is afraid he’s going to forget her name or something, so he keeps saying it over and over again so he’ll remember. My mom does that sometimes. She always says, _“No, that was Tsukishima,”_ like that is something she’s afraid of forgetting. It’s kinda weird, she glitches like a video game and says that all the time. I have no idea who Tsukishima is.”

The girl frowned. “That’s really strange,” Eriko replied. “I gave it some thought. I think my dad is lonely, that's why he’s so angry all the time.”

Kazui’s eyes wandered in the direction of their teacher, and he observed him for a moment. Turning back to his companion, he replied, “Yeah, that makes sense. He looks kind of bummed out. My mom is lonely. She never says anything about it but sometimes I see her looking at pictures of my dad or her friends who live far away, but mostly she just stares into space and sighs. Then after that she’ll come and bother me and give me a hug or something. Does your dad do that?”

Scowling for a moment, Eri thought about her dad. There were no pictures in their house aside from her and Sato. She shook her head. “He doesn’t look at any pictures. I do see him with this box that he keeps in his closet. He puts it out of my reach. Even if I stand on a chair, I can’t get to it. Other than being moody, he gets irritated; that’s why I think he’s lonely.”

“Hmm, maybe if I come over to your house next weekend we can sneak a peek?” He whispered with a handsome little smirk. Usually the boy took after his mother’s appearance, but once in awhile he channeled his father almost perfectly.

“Uh, uh, uh,” was all Eriko could stammer. For some reason Kazui looked really adorable at that moment. She nodded. “You can’t make messes though. My dad will yell if there’s messes.”

“Okay. My mom makes me be clean, too, so it’s normal for me,” he said then scowled as his stomach growled. “Let’s eat I’m starving.”

Eri opened her bento and pushed it towards him with a smile.

***

What was it with the beginning of May? It seemed like the warming weather always brought out the skin-bearing clothing, the crazies, and the hormones. It didn’t help that the Callery pear trees were in bloom; the entire town smelled like semen. Orihime stepped outside of her shop to sweep the entrance, and the pungent aroma assaulted her nose. “Ugh,” she said, shaking her head and taking a step back. There was one of the offending trees just across the street. She’d much prefer the vomit smell of the ginkgo tree in front of her old house. Then again, maybe not. In the dream that had woken her up in the middle of the night last night, she certainly didn’t seem to mind the aforementioned white substance.

Orihime blushed. Then she smiled. This was the first time since her husband’s death that she had felt this way. Granted, it was just a dream, but she felt scandalous. She had had a dirty dream about her son’s homeroom teacher. She giggled to herself, feeling a bit of glee at her naughtiness. This would be her little secret to amuse herself with. No one would ever have to know. Part of her was proud of herself for pushing past that part of her grief. A tiny part of her felt guilty. She would always love Ichigo, but he was dead. The vows said until death do you part. They were definitely parted.

It was these thoughts swirling through her mind that distracted her. She didn’t notice the dark spiritual pressure until it was right on top of the school. How could she?! Kazui had inherited his father’s Shinigami power, but didn’t have the ability to wield it. He was a human, trapped in a human’s body. She had confiscated the small battle pass Urahara had given the boy long ago. There was no playing shinigami in Orihime’s house without her permission. It had been her decision, and now her child and all his classmates and teachers were at risk, because she hadn’t been paying attention; fantasizing about his best friend’s father!

She dropped her broom and looked both ways before calling her Shun Shun Rikka and situating her shield parallel to the ground. She hopped on and directed it flying toward the school as fast as possible, hoping no one would notice in the broad daylight. The hollow that had descended upon the school smelled big. Orihime still scented spiritual pressure.

***

As soon as he felt it, Ulquiorra’s head snapped up. His eyes looked up at the ceiling of the room, scanning the space as if he could see something. He noticed a certain orange-haired boy doing the same thing. Was that a regular Hollow? Was it a Gillian? Adjuchas? There was no way it was an Arrancar.

  
  
Slowly he stood, walking over to the windows, looking out them. Urahara had explained the mechanics of his gigai. It dampened his spiritual pressure. He could sense other people’s but he couldn’t see the things that went bump in the night--or in this case, the middle of the fucking day. 

He knew his daughter was worried. He could see the girl’s face from the corner of his eye. Her green eyes were wide open. Eriko was trying to get his attention. “Please remain seated and continue working. I need to step out into the hall,” Ulquiorra said to the students before exiting the room.

There were lives at stake and there was nothing he could do. He had to call Urahara… No, the old Shinigami couldn’t do anything, not with being crippled. Dammit.

He scrolled through his contacts until he hit Orihime’s name. 

Fuck.

***

“Eri!” Kazui’s voice shouted as a tremor rocked the building. The boy grabbed his friend by the hand and ran from the classroom into the hall. “Into the bathroom!” he cried to her, pushing her into the near windowless room, then turned to face the open classroom door, heaving in fear. Then he felt it. A small smile smoothed out the most worried part of his face, although he remained on guard, as he whispered, “Mom…”

***

As soon as Orihime saw the hollow, she flared her spiritual pressure as hard as she could to get its attention. Almost immediately, the large, black, grotesque looking being jumped off of the school building and turned toward her. It was _big._ Easily the size of a firetruck. Maybe larger. It had the appearance of a junebug with its wings extended, and wore a wide white mask with horizontal stripes where the eyes might be and a jaw full of sharp teeth. 

Orihime shivered at the sight and hit the ground running, trying to lure the creature further away from the school. She hadn’t seen one this big in years, not since Ichigo was still alive. As soon as she had the hollow out in the baseball field, she attacked. She didn’t want to waste anytime. She wasn’t going to play with her kill before she finished it; that wasn’t her style. If a thing needed killing, she thought it best to kill it dead the first time. So she used her best move, calling Tsubaki and her shield power simultaneously. Tsubaki struck, slicing through the hollow’s mask, scant moments before Baigon, Lily, and Hanagiku followed, filling in the space that Tsubaki had made, expanding the cut, and in essence, tearing the hollow into two pieces from top to bottom. It was a fast and furious attack, and as soon as it had begun, it seemed to be over. 

Orihime stood in a defensive stance as she watched the hollow evaporate into thin air, then looked around, sniffing the air, looking to see if it had any companions. After an appropriate amount of time had passed, she decided the coast was clear, and fell to the dusty ground on her ass, trying to catch her breath. She was able to focus on her task while it lasted, but once the threat was over, she always had a bit of residual panic to deal with. She didn’t notice her phone had been ringing until she got her breathing under control. She took her phone out of her pocket; one missed call from Ulquiorra Cifer.

Her mind jumped to one conclusion. She had been too late. Something must have happened to Kazui. Terrified, she jumped to her feet and started dashing toward the school entrance, calling him back as she ran.

“Did you kill it? Is it gone?” Ulquiorra asked, his voice quiet but the words seemed like they were hissed.

“Yes,” she said, panting and breathless as she continued to run. “Is everything alright in there? Is Kazui…?” She let the question hang in the air.

Ulquiorra gave a sigh. “Where the hell is the Shinigami that patrols the town? Your son is fine. He and Eri are missing from the classroom. Wait, he’s standing in front of the bathroom. Is he like your husband?”

“What do you mean by that?” she asked, slowing down to a walk.

“Is Kazui a Shinigami?”

It was then that Orihime realized who she was talking to and what he was talking about. “How do you know about that kind of thing, Cifer-sensei? Who are you?”

“It matters not who I am,” Ulquiorra replied. 

“It matters to me,” she huffed. “Does Urahara know?”

The teacher huffed. “I don’t have to answer that,” he replied. Ulquiorra was offended. She should know who he was. He’d given her enough hints and had been reassured that he looked just the same as he did when he was an Espada, minus the mask.

“Well, then I don’t have to answer anything about my son.” Orihime said, and hung up. She had no intention of leaving, though, until she had made sure with her own eyes that her son was okay. She marched herself into the building and went straight to the teacher’s room, asking for someone to get her son out of class 4-A for a moment.

A secretary bowed and shuffled out of the office toward Ulquiorra’s classroom. She stopped when she saw him standing in the hallway. “Uh, Cifer-sensei? Kurosaki-san is here to speak to Kazui-kun. Could you send him to the teacher’s room?”

Letting out a long breath, Ulquiorra nodded. “I’ll send him along in a moment,” he told the woman. As soon as she turned around, the man walked over to the bathroom and pushed the door open. “Eriko! Kazui!”

The girl with green eyes had been huddled against the wall in the last stall. She slowly walked out, looking scared, her bottom lip trembling. “What was that Dad?”

“It’s okay, Eri. It’s over,” Kazui said, following behind her like a kicked puppy, trying to comfort her. He couldn’t tell her what was wrong, but he wanted to protect her. That he was unable to make her feel safe was killing the boy.

“It was an earthquake. It’s over, as Kurosaki said. Please go back to your seat.” Ulquiorra waited until his daughter left the room and then stared at the young boy. “I need you to answer a question for me, Kazui.”

Kazui swallowed hard and looked up at his teacher, waiting.

“Are you a Shinigami? I need the truth.”

Kazui’s face reddened. “Um, I need to talk to my mom,” he said, looking aside, his brow heavy with worry. He could feel her spiritual pressure nearby.

Ulquiorra sighed. He should have known that the boy would not answer him. “Go, she’s waiting for you in the teacher’s room.”

Kazui didn’t wait, turning and running for the office before his teacher changed his mind.

***

Orihime lay in bed that night thinking. Who was Ulquiorra Cifer? How did he know her husband? How did he know her? How did he know her son was a shinigami? She rolled over and looked at the time. Ten. Too late to call. Too late to text? Only one way to find out.

\- Are you a shinigami?

He glared at his phone as it vibrated. Ulquiorra read the text message as he laid in bed. Was he a shinigami? Ha! He was the exact opposite of that. She should remember who he was. He had only tormented her, not that he was proud of that fact.

\- No.

It was a simple word. A simple text.

Hmmm, she thought. Not a Shinigami.

\- Quincy?

His nose wrinkled in disgust. Ulquiorra sat up and glared at the screen.

-Absolutely not.

She thought about it. Maybe he was like her.

\- Fullbringer?

-Why do you insist on playing this guessing game? You know who I am.

Ulquiorra sent the message and crossed his arms over his chest to await a reply from the woman.

Orihime frowned. She never admitted it to people, because the idea frightened her, but for some time she had suspected that there were holes in her memory. How could she have forgotten him? Someone who says she knows him; knew her late husband? She sighed. Maybe it was time to come clean, a bit. Maybe if she gave a little, he would give a little.

\- I’m not playing. I don’t know how you know me or how you knew Ichigo, but I believe you. I have, I guess you can call them, “gaps” in my memory. Maybe you can fill me in?

An exasperated sigh left Ulquiorra. She must have been suffering from some kind of mental disorder… Post-traumatic stress? Had she had a mental breakdown after the winter war?

\- I should not have to fill in the gaps. You slapped me at one point in time. I would think you’d remember that.

Orihime’s brow wrinkled deeply. She had never slapped anyone in her life.

\- I think I would have remembered that, too. I’ve never slapped anyone. If what you’re saying is true, then I sincerely apologize. If you are making this up, then it isn’t funny. Goodnight, Cifer-sensei.

She rolled over in bed and sighed. She was going to have to ask around about her son’s homeroom teacher if he wasn’t going to be more forthcoming.

“Tch,” he scoffed in the darkness of his room. 

-Do not waste your honorifics on me. Call me as you have always done. I am not Ulquiorra-kun nor am I Cifer-sensei. I am just Ulquiorra. Goodnight Woman.

Orihime heard her phone buzz and picked it up. Reading the text, she felt mixed messages. At first his words sounded offensive, but by the end… Was he flirting with her? Why would he want her to call him by his given name? Why would she have done it in the past? It was much too intimate. Why would he call her “Woman”? It seemed kind of sexual to her. She pressed her lips together and tried to force herself not to focus on it. She tried to force herself not to recall the dream she had the night before.

But it was much easier to fall asleep to the idea of making out on the roof of her shop with a handsome guy than worrying about whether her son’s teacher was some kind of creature from another dimension, so she went with the former. She could worry about the latter tomorrow.

***

The next morning Ulquiorra sat his daughter down and decided to have a talk with her. “Eriko. I want to talk to you about something… It happens in life...”

“Dad, no! There are books I can buy about puberty.”

“What? No! That’s not what I want to talk about. I want to talk about yesterday.”

The girl waited for her father to continue as she stared at him. “You mean the earthquake?”

He opened his mouth but nothing came out. “You’re no longer allowed to spend time with Kazui outside of school. He dragged you out of the classroom and into the bathroom. That’s not appropriate behavior. There are protocols and instructions that teachers need to follow during events like that.” Ulquiorra knew there was nothing on the school books about a hollow attack.

“But, he knew I was scared! He kept me calm while you were in the hallway! Why don’t you like Kazui or his mom? Why are you so rude to them?”

Ulquiorra pinched the bridge of his nose. “It’s none of your business why I do not like them.”

“Why do you say her name at night?” Eriko blurted out. Ulquiorra’s eyes went to his daughter’s face. She had her hands covering her mouth and her eyes were wide.

  
  
“What did you say?” he asked.

“I’m sorry. I apologize. That was rude,” she said bowing to him. 

Ulquiorra sat there stunned for a moment before he found his voice. It was stern. “Stop apologizing to me, Eriko. What do you mean I say her name at night?”

Her lip jutted out and Ulquiorra could tell she was going to cry. “Since we’ve started this school term… Sometimes I get up at night and I can hear you in your room, thumping around. I’ve checked on you. You’re tossing and turning in bed, sweating. You’re telling someone it’s useless and you’ve won. You call out Murcielago. You say Kaz’s mom’s name.”

The man sat there for a moment and weighed his options. He could call in and probably be judged for not showing up to go into Karakura to talk to the blonde Shinigami. He could go into town and talk to Isshin Kurosaki. He shook his head. No. He wouldn’t do that today. He had a job to do and he’d do that job. Ulquiorra would ask for the time off, citing he had an unavoidable appointment that he couldn’t reschedule. Eriko would be in school while he went. She wouldn’t be around Urahara or the elder Kurosaki. 

“Go get ready for school,” he stated and got up from the table. The girl scampered off upstairs and a few minutes passed before Ulquiorra followed her. He went to his own room, closing the door. As usual, the room was spotless, bed made to perfection. This behavior went back to his days as an Arrancar. His quarters were immaculate and furnishings minimal. He listened for Eri, which he could hear in her room, singing softly to herself down the hall.

Ulquiorra thought it was safe enough. Walking over to the closet, he slid the door open and reached up to the top shelf. His hand connected with the box that was hidden up there. He was careful as he brought it down and walked over to the bed. The box was heavy.

When he returned to life, Ulquiorra did not go straight to the world of the living. He spent time combing the sands of Hueco Mundo for the thing that had always sat on his head. When he woke up and felt that he didn’t have his mask fragment, he knew he would not and could not leave that desolate landscape without it.

Lifting the lid off of the box, green eyes stared down at that ridged helmet with the horn. He ran his fingers over the bone, feeling each crevice. He had been shorter as an Arrancar. He had pupils that were slits instead of rounded. He could point at someone and burn them with an emerald green Cero. He could crush his eye and show people the truth. He had shown Aizen who Orihime Inoue was, although Ulquiorra suspected that the traitor already knew who she was. A rough edge of the helmet nicked his finger and the teacher’s finger began to bleed. He put the finger into his mouth then put the box away before fetching a bandage.

His days as the fourth Espada were over. Ulquiorra couldn’t dwell on them. He had a child to take care of and watch grow.

Ten minutes later, he was calling for Eriko to hurry up or they were going to be late. 

***

Orihime woke up the next day with a smile on her face that quickly faded. She had a lot of calls to make that day. Riruka had better step up her game, because Orihime knew she was going to be preoccupied.

Kazui didn’t sleep well that night. The thing with the hollow scared him. He had seen them before, of course, but he had never had anyone he wanted to protect as much as he had wanted to protect Eri. And then the thing with Cifer-sensei… he was scared to go back to school and face him. So he did what any clever ten-year-old would do, and pretended to be sick.

Orihime knocked on Kazui’s door. “Everything okay, Monkey? It’s almost time to go.”

“I don’t feel good. I can’t go to school,” the boy groaned, clutching his stomach and coughing.

“Oh,” Orihime worried her brow and walked over to her son, sitting on the edge of the bed and putting the back of her hand to his forehead. “No fever. Can you tell me what’s wrong?”

“I just don’t feel good.”

Orihime frowned. “If it’s that hollow you’re worried about, don’t. It’s gone. Your mom was distracted yesterday. I’ll be on alert today, and I’m going to tell Grandpa and Uncle Uryu about it, too. You don’t have anything to worry about. Now get up and get ready to go,” she said, standing and smiling down at him.

“No, Mom! You don’t understand. Cifer-sensei asked if I was a Shinigami.”

Orihime’s eyes narrowed. “What did you tell him?”

“I said I had to talk to you and then ran away.”

She smirked. “Good boy. Now listen, don’t worry about Cifer-sensei. I talked to him last night. Apparently he was, um, a friend of your father’s. That’s how he knows about you. Still, don’t tell him anything, okay? If he asks you anything, tell him he can ask me. If he sends you home, I’ll talk to him, got it?”

Kazui nodded carefully. It didn’t sit well with him that his dad and Cifer-sensei knew one another nor did he care for the fact that his mom and Eri’s dad spoke on the phone. He didn’t know why. Still, he did as his mother asked.

After Kazui had left, Orihime’s first call was to Uryu Ishida. It rang and rang, eventually going to voicemail. She decided to leave a message:

“Hi Ishida-kun, it’s me. Hey, if you have a chance can you call me back? Or better yet, maybe we can grab a bite and catch up. There’s something I want to talk with you about.”

She didn’t bother with Isshin. She was pretty sure he already knew about Cif-- Ulquiorra. He was as sketchy as Urahara sometimes. They would be her last resort.

***

When Kazui got to school, he slid into his desk behind Eri’s and whispered to her, “Hey, did you know about them talking?”

Eri looked behind her at the orange-haired kid and shook her head. “No,” she said. “I got lectured before coming to school today though.”

“Oh no, why?” he asked with a concerned look on his face.

“My dad says you acted inappropriately and there’s protocol and blah blah blah. He’s being unfair about this,” she whispered. “He’s a jerk.”

Kazui sighed. “I’m sorry I got you in trouble. Wait, did you get in trouble?” It sounded like she just got a talking to.

Eri shook her head which made her hair wave back and forth. “I’m not allowed to hang out with you until he says I can, because he’s a jerk. Just because he doesn’t enjoy life, doesn’t mean I have to be like him. I like to laugh. I like to smile. He wants to be grumpy all the time.”

The boy looked stricken. “What? How can he--” Kazui’s lip trembled for a second as he looked down at his desk. If he wasn’t allowed to be friends with Eri anymore, he didn’t know what he would do. They’d only been friends a little over a month but he felt like they were inseparable.

The girl looked put out too. She liked Kazui. He was fun to be around. “Don’t worry. I’m not going to listen to him. My dad said I can’t come over after school or on the weekends. We can still be friends in school. Who else am I going to get cake from?” Eri smiled at him for a moment.

When he looked back up at her, he was wearing the classic Kurosaki scowl. “It’s not fair. It’s not right,” he said, clenching his fist. He was angry. His spiritual pressure started to rise. He didn’t care. None of his classmates would know. Maybe his stupid old teacher knew, but he didn’t care. He wanted him to know he was mad, in not so many words.

“Kurosaki? Do you have a problem you need to discuss?” Ulquiorra asked from the front of the classroom.

Kazui doubled down, the air surrounding him feeling prickly to anyone with any amount of spiritual awareness. “ _I_ don’t have a problem,” he replied through tight lips.

Ulquiorra felt a nagging sensation at the edge of his memories. This kid was exactly like his father. He had said Ichigo Kurosaki was trash. He was nothing. That nothing had killed him. The teacher narrowed his eyes and then glanced at his daughter. He could see how she avoided his gaze and her face colored. “Eriko, to the teacher’s room. Now.”

He saw how the other kids turned and looked at her. Ulquiorra heard her gasp as if she had been burned. 

Kazui’s spiritual pressure disappeared as he stood abruptly, nearly knocking his chair over. “No! It’s not her fault. I’ll go.”

The man’s mouth formed a thin line as he stood up straight, leveling a displeased expression at the kid. “Eriko. Go. Now. Sit down Kurosaki.”

The boy’s face crumpled as he whimpered to his friend, “I’m so sorry, Eri. I’m sorry,” and took his seat. He was pretty sure if he did anything else it would just make it worse for her.

She nodded before leaving the room, her face burning with embarrassment. Her dad was a jerk. He was worse than a jerk! He was a lonely old man and as soon as she could, Eriko would leave this horrible place.

Ulquiorra stared at each of his students and silently dared anyone to say anything to him. The children said nothing, not even Kurosaki. They were probably used to Ulquiorra being quiet and nice, only raising his voice to call attention to the lesson being taught. He never spoke harshly to any of them. “I expect your assignments to be done by the time I get back,” he stated. “Get to work.”

***

Orihime got a call back from Uryu in the early afternoon and they made plans to have dinner that night. She made Kazui’s dinner in advance and was getting cleaned up and dressed when he got home, slamming the door. “Mom! You’re not going to believe this!”

“What is it, Monkey?” she asked.

“Cifer-sensei won’t let Eri play after school or on the weekends anymore!”

Orihime’s head snapped in her son’s direction. “What did you do, Kazui?! Why would he do that?”

“I didn’t do anything, Mom! He said it was inappropriate that I--”

Orihime sighed. He said the same thing to her. “You were protecting your friend, sweetheart. You were doing the right thing. That was a big bad hollow. I’m proud of you.”

“Well, that jerk said I’m a bad influence or whatever. Now I have no one!”

Orihime pursed her lips and walked over to her son, giving him a brief hug. “I’ll try to talk to him, honey, but not tonight. I think maybe he needs to cool off, and I’m meeting with Uncle Uryu tonight.”

Kazui’s eyes narrowed. He used to like his Uncle Uryu. Now he wasn’t so sure. He used to come around a lot after his dad died. He saw the way the doctor hovered around his mother. He didn’t like it. “Is that why you’re so dressed up?”

Orihime looked down at her outfit. It was just a floral dress. Something she might wear to work… if she worked at a much nicer shop than Halcyon. She sighed and looked at her son. “Sometimes grown-ups just want to look nice because it makes them feel good about themselves. Stop worrying.”

Kazui crossed his arms over his chest. “I’m not worried,” he said and looked away.

Orihime rolled her eyes and sighed as she put some earrings on. “I made you some fried rice and gyoza. They’re in the fridge. Don’t eat it all because the leftovers are for your bento.” She grabbed her purse and her keys and walked over to where Kazui stood and ruffled his hair. “I’ll be back in a few hours. I love you, Monkey,” she said before she left.

***

Ulquiorra had lectured Eriko again. He requested for time off, citing medical reasons. It was approved. After school, the man dragged his daughter to the store where he bought several things for their dinner. 

She wouldn’t talk to him. Eriko hadn’t said much to anyone after she got back to the classroom. She had kept to herself. It kind of killed Ulquiorra inside to see his daughter act this way especially since she was bright and bubbly, most of the time anyway. Whenever she was around Kazui, she was happy. Whenever she talked about Kazui, she was happy.

Eriko would never understand that he was trying to protect her. Kurosaki and Orihime had to have created another human that had a high spiritual pressure. He had felt it when that kid tried to intimidate him with it. He could have easily sent a wave back. Ulquiorra knew where the dampeners were located on the gigai. All he had to do was press the skin between his thumb and index finger, until he felt a pop. 

Urahara explained that was for only extreme cases. Ulquiorra’s spiritual pressure could kill people. The only way to mask it completely would be to have that bangle on his wrist again. Ulquiorra could easily tear apart the thing encasing his true form. He could go back to Hueco Mundo and be hunted for sport by other hollows and Shinigami. Hell, maybe there were Quincies still out there who would put him out of his misery.

He let out a disgusted breath at himself.

Ulquiorra had a child to think of. He couldn’t abandon her and let her fend for herself. Eriko would know she had at least one parent who loved her. When they arrived home, he watched as his daughter did her homework while he cooked. 

She was a good kid. Eriko wasn’t any trouble. She studied hard and was respectful. That’s all Ulquiorra could ask for. He wanted her to be an independent person when she was finally on her own. 

“I’m sorry Eri-chan,” Ulquiorra said as he cut up some carrots. Glancing up, he saw her pencil stop moving on the paper. He still hated nicknames but this was his pride and joy. Eriko was his princess. “I was… afraid, yesterday.”

“Why?”

Ulquiorra sighed, “If you ever become a parent, I’m sure you’ll experience the same feeling of terror that one does whenever children are involved. I was worried about your safety.”

“It was just a small earthquake, Dad.” Eriko was now pouting at him.

“You’re a girl. Sometimes men do--”

“Oh god, not this again! Kazui is my friend. He’s not some guy on the train or some pervert just walking down the street,” Eri stated. She scowled at him and Ulquiorra was shocked to see how much of his appearance bled through. Her brows weren’t as thick, but they still came together to make her glare severe. “Kaz wouldn’t know if I liked him even if I threw a brick at his head.” 

“Eriko.”

She huffed. 

Putting down the knife, Ulquiorra put his hands on the countertop. “There are bad things in this world. Things that can and will hurt you but you can’t see them.”

“Like with Kazui in the park?”


	7. Chapter 7

“You’re looking lovely this evening, Kurosaki-san,” Ishida said as he met her in front of a semi-casual dining spot in Naruki City. Orihime and Uryu tried to not meet up in Karakura and risk being seen together there. Too many eyes.

“Thank you, and you can call me Orihime, we’ve known each other almost our whole lives,” Orihime said with a smile but a faux-exasperated tone.

“I know. Old habits die hard, though. How long did it take me to stop calling you Inoue-san?” the Quincy asked, holding the door open for her.

They took a seat and ordered some food before they quit the small talk and got to the topic at hand. “So, Uryu,” he was right, it felt weird to use his first name. She cleared her throat before continuing. “There was a hollow attack at Kazui’s school on Monday. Did you notice?”

Uryu nodded. “I felt that you took care of it in short order. Well done.”

Orihime scowled. “Where were you?”

“In surgery,” he said, looking at her with a baffled expression. He had more or less hung up his bow and arrows since the last war. He still pitched in a pinch, but usually it wasn’t necessary. 

Orihime sat back in her seat and sighed. “That’s not all. Kazui’s new teacher acts like he knows who I am. Who Ichigo was. He called me Orihime Inoue. He knew about the Winter War, the hollow at the school, and he asked if Kazui was a shinigami! He won’t tell me who he is, though.”

Uryu played his cards close to his vest. “Oh? What’s this teacher’s name?”

“Ulquiorra Cifer.”

“Hmm, doesn’t ring a bell. Did you talk to Urahara about it?”

Orihime scoffed. “No. We’re not exactly besties. I’m still sore about being sidelined before Tsukishima captured me in the Dangai.”

Uryu nodded thoughtfully. “Yeah. I imagine that’s not a fun memory.” Uryu hated this. He hated that he had agreed that it was a good idea at the time; that he had actually encouraged Ichigo to go through with it. Since Ichigo’s death, he had seen how the memory alteration had affected Orihime. Sometimes she would be in the middle of a conversation and just stop, like she went off into another dimension for a moment, only to get sucked back into her body minutes later. It was unnerving.

“Maybe if you saw him it would jog your memory? He’s very distinctive,” Orihime offered.

“Maybe,” Uryu said. There was no way in hell he would meet Ulquiorra voluntarily. If the former Espada remembered him, it might trigger something. Uryu still remembered how hard it had been for Orihime after Tsukishima had altered her memory the first time; how she had fought against the effect of his Book of the End and almost had a mental breakdown when Ichigo was fighting him. This time the effect had lasted nearly eight years. It would probably be much worse. “Well, if you want me to meet him, I’d be happy to talk to him,” Uryu offered. Maybe meeting Cifer without Orihime around would be a good idea; he could explain what happened and maybe the hollow would agree to keep the secret. Maybe. Maybe not.

“Thanks, Ishida-kun, you’re a lifesaver.”

“Ishida-kun, is it?” he asked with a sly grin.

“You’re right, old habits die hard.”

***

  
The following Wednesday, Ulquiorra delivered his daughter to the elementary school before heading to Urahara’s shoten. The weather was nice as he walked the streets of Karakura. As he moved he almost forgot what he was going to talk to the old man about. As usual the place looked deserted. It was hard to believe he had been here almost two months ago. He remembered the look on Urahara’s face when he learned of Eriko’s existence.   
  


Ulquiorra had gotten so angry at his insistence that his daughter could be some kind of hollow-human hybrid. She wasn’t. She was a normal child.

“Are you coming in, Cifer or are you going to hang about the street all day?”

A minute later he was seated at that low table with a steaming cup of tea. Urahara sat across from him and a big man with glasses and cornrows sat at one end doing needlepoint. Ulquiorra just stared at him while the needle poked through fabric. He could hear the sound of the thread as it was pulled through. It made him shiver.

“I’m assuming this isn’t a social call,” Urahara said with a smile.

Green eyes slid back to the blond man. “You’d be correct. I need some answers.”

“Hmmm, answers you say? What are the questions?”

“Is Kazui Kurosaki a Shinigami? What happened to Ichigo Kurosaki? Why didn’t his wife reject his death like she did twice before? What happened to Orihime Inoue? Why does she have memory problems?” The questions poured out of Ulquiorra before he had a chance to rationally think about what he wanted to ask.

Urahara produced a fan from his sleeve and tapped it against his chin. “Hmmm. That’s a lot of questions Cifer.”

“Are you going to tell me or make me jump through hoops?”

“Yes, Kazui is a Shinigami. His mother is a Fullbringer; his father a--”

“I got it the first time. Ichigo Kurosaki was a freak of nature.”

The blond laughed and flicked the fan open. “Ichigo decided to play hero and save a child’s life at the expense of his own. It was decided by the Gotei Thirteen that a konso would be performed instead of waiting for him to turn. There would be no one powerful enough to stop him if he evolved into a hollow. I’m sure you know this.”

Ulquiorra glowered at the man, while Urahara beamed a smile at him. “And?”

“Orihime wasn’t around when he died. The konso was performed and she was told after it happened.”

Oh.

“As for Kurosaki-san’s memory problems, you’d have to talk to Uryu Ishida and her late husband.”

A black eyebrow rose. Why would he talk to the Quincy? How did one get in touch with the dead? This guy was either trolling him and stringing him along for the ride or he’d gone insane. “Do you know who Tsukishima is?”

“A Fullbringer who was killed by--”

“So she’s talking about a dead guy?”

“Pardon?” Urahara asked, caught off guard. “What do you mean she’s talking about a dead guy?”

Ulquiorra shook his head. “It matters not. Has she come here in the past two months? Has she ever said anything about me?”

The hat he was wearing was tipped forward and Urahara’s voice took on a dark tone. “She doesn’t come here. Hime-chan was having trouble sleeping. Ichigo came to me and asked if I had some kind of special--”

The big guy interrupted Urahara. “Miss Orihime needed sleep. She wasn’t getting it because of nightmares. Her husband said she kept calling out for an Espada. We tried everything to get her to sleep but nothing worked. The dreams kept coming back. I advised Ichigo to seek a professional doctor’s help,” Tessai explained.

“A doctor?” Ulquiorra asked. “Is that what Uryu Ishida is?”

Both men nodded.

“From what we heard, Hime-chan refused the pills. Ichigo went to Soul Society and asked for Mayuri Kurotsuchi's help. That’s the last we heard about it. Eventually Hime-chan was able to sleep and the only thing I can deduce from it was that Mayuri zapped her brain,” Urahara said.

“That’s bullshit. There’s nothing in Soul Society that can zap people’s brains! No one has that technology,” Ulquiorra argued.

The laugh that followed Ulquiorra out the door echoed in his ears. He was tired of the man’s games. He needed straightforward answers. As he walked back to the station, he thought about it. How had the Shinigami dealt with all those people who witnessed the destruction that the arrancars unleashed while he was taking Orihime Inoue hostage? He had coordinated the attack in the middle of the afternoon.

Maybe they did have some kind of device that zapped people’s memories.

He sighed as his stomach rumbled. He hadn’t eaten breakfast that morning. Ulquiorra bit the corner of his lip and pulled his phone from the pocket of his blazer. His GPS showed that he was only a couple of streets away from the cafe. 

Screw it, he had to talk to her.

***

He pushed the door of the cafe open and looked around as he stepped inside. Ulquiorra’s head was swirling with thoughts about the tiny redhead and the past seventeen years. What had happened to her? Why did she have nightmares? Which Espada had she called out for?

“Irrashai—“ her voice trailed off as she turned around. She was the only one there besides Riruka because it was generally not a busy time of day for the shop. Orihime’s eyes focused on Ulquiorra’s face questioningly. “How can I help you, Ulquiorra?”

Just hearing his name come from her lips made him even more confused. Why was he feeling like this again? His forehead furrowed slightly. “Eriko is always telling me to visit. I thought I would do that today.”

Orihime bit the inside of her cheek, unsure about how to play this. In the meantime, she supposed she better just do her job. “Well we have a special on egg salad sandwiches today, but please have a look at the display case and the overhead menu. Can I start you with something to drink?”

“Tea, please, and a sandwich is all.” Ulquiorra paused for a beat, his eyes following her. “Do you honestly not remember me?”

Her posture relaxed at his question somewhat. He seemed open to the reality this time. “I honestly don’t,” she said. “Do you prefer black or green or something else?”

A sigh left the man. “It doesn’t matter. Whatever you have is fine. If it is okay with you, I’d like to ask you some questions.”

“Please do,” she said, dropping some tea leaves into a pot and pouring some water from a hot water dispenser over them. She got two cups and a plate and began assembling a sandwich as the tea steeped.

“What happened during the Winter War? After Grimmjow...” He didn’t know how much to ask or what to ask really. “What do you remember?”

“Wow, um, okay, you seem to know a lot,” she commented before her head disappeared into the refrigerator for a moment. She washed some strawberries and dried them with a paper towel before starting to cut the greens off. “Well, Ichigo fought Grimmjow and won, but not before Grimmjow trapped Tsukishima in something called… Oh, what was it? A Negation? I forget. Anyway, after Ichigo won and Tsukishima got out, Tsukishima decided to defect to the side of Soul Society and we went back to the fake Karakura Town together, the three of us.” She put the tea pot, cups, and plate with his sandwich and cut strawberries onto a tray and brought it over to a table, “Come sit down, I’ll share the tea with you.”

“A caja negacion,” he said absently as he walked to the table and sat down. Ulquiorra stared at the woman. Who was this Tsukishima? He pulled out his phone and tapped the screen before turning it around to show her the picture. “Does this look familiar?”

Orihime examined the photo; it appeared to be half of a white plaster replica of a stylized samurai helmet. “No, can’t say that it does. And Tsukishima turned out to be a Fullbringer like me. I don’t know how he aligned himself with Aizen, but Aizen had him kidnap me and take me to Hueco Mundo.”

“Did you meet any other Espadas? Do you remember who the fourth was?”

“Um,” she looked off to the side and went quiet for a long moment. After what felt like too long, she shook her head and looked back at him. “I met all of them, but I don’t remember a fourth one. I think Tsukishima was standing in for that position, even though he wasn’t an Arrancar.”

A harsh scoff came out of Ulquiorra’s mouth. He wanted to shake the woman and make her see what the hell was going on. His mouth once again formed a thin line, as it seemingly did since he had met this female again. “I see,” he replied. “Why wouldn’t another Arrancar stand in for the fourth? Maybe Luppi?”

Orihime wondered how this man knew so much about Aizen’s creations. “Luppi was killed. He had been the sixth until I healed Grimmjow and—“ Had she said too much? “Um, do you know about me?” she asked before going any further.

“You mean that your hairpins contain six little beings? The fact that you can reject death?” Ulquiorra’s face remained passive as he just started speaking, the words coming from somewhere deep inside of him. “Orihime Inoue. Sister to Sora Inoue who was killed when you were young. You grew up alone. Your birthday is September third. You were in Karakura Community Park when Yammy almost killed your friend. You admitted to another Shinigami how you felt inferior to Rukia Kuchiki.”

Orihime’s eyes grew as large as saucers. “You sound just like him…” she whispered. “How? He’s dead!”

“Yammy shattered one of your petals.”

She shook her head. How could he know?!

Ulquiorra realized his mistake too late. He had said too much. Grabbing his phone off the table, he stood and then pulled his wallet out from his back pocket. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have come here,” he said looking down at the redhead. “How much do I owe you?”

“No, I insist you stay and finish,” she said in a soft voice, standing up and pushing her chair in. “I’ll be watering the plants if you need anything. Um, I told Eri-chan that the next time you came it was my treat. Please take your time and enjoy,” she said, her voice and hands shaky, before walking quickly to the side of the shop.

As soon as she disappeared into the other side of the shop, Ulquiorra pulled out a thousand yen note and left it on the table before leaving as quietly as he could. He upset her like he always did. He upset her when her friend died. He upset her about her friends coming to rescue her. What had she meant by the words, he sounded just like him? Who was this he? Who was dead? 

His steps were swift as he reached the train station. 

Wait.

He couldn’t go back home. Eri was still at school. He could finish out the rest of the day. Ulquiorra really didn’t feel like doing that though. All he felt like doing was crawling back to that crystal tree and disappearing. He really felt like that as he stood in front of the train station. 

“She wasn’t lying,” a cold, quiet voice said from close behind him. “A teacher now? How the mighty have fallen.”

Ulquiorra’s spine stiffened and he automatically reached for that skin between his thumb and index finger. He knew that voice. It was the same scathing, snobby voice he had heard in Hueco Mundo. The green-eyed man turned around slowly, narrowing his eyes when he saw Uryu Ishida. “Pardon?” 

“She told me that you are Kazui’s teacher. That you are a father. She wasn’t lying. She has no memory of you.”

“You are talking about Orihime Kurosaki, correct? Yes, I am Kazui’s teacher. I am a father though I never meant to procreate.” Ulquiorra’s stare darkened.

The Quincy seemed to study the former Espada for a moment. “Your past intentions are irrelevant. What do you intend to do now? You should know that although she is entirely capable of doing it herself, it is my current intention to ensure the safety of Inoue-san and Kazui.”

What? This man sounded almost--Oh. The Quincy sounded jealous. “I intend to do nothing. I plan to teach, raise my daughter and in four years, hopefully, I’ll be put into a different school when things are shuffled around. What happened to her?”

Ishida pursed his lips. He didn’t want to tell him, but he had noticed at dinner the other night that Orihime’s symptoms were getting worse. He kept thinking about the first time Tsukishima’s power wore off, and how hard it had been for her. Ulquiorra would be the person with the most ability to help or hurt her; and Uryu had a feeling that time was running out. “I need you to swear that you will follow my recommendations. We can’t talk here,” he said, looking around. “Can you come to my office?”

“A Quincy wants me to follow him somewhere private. Are you kidding me?” Ulquiorra bristled at the suggestion. There was no way he’d go anywhere alone with this guy. “I will do nothing of the sort. As far as I am concerned, I have nothing to say to you.”

The Quincy bristled. “Fine. Be useless,” he snapped and stalked back toward Karakura Hospital with long strides. He didn’t have time for a temperamental hollow.

Useless? Useless? Ulquiorra had never been useless. There was always a task for him or something! Something dark flared within his body and he found himself blocking Ishida’s way. It didn’t immediately sink in what he had done. “You were pretty useless on top of that dome.”

The doctor scoffed. “I was sixteen years old and outclassed. There’s no shame in that. You, on the other hand, are fully capable of performing a task and refuse. I would call that useless,” he said, stepping aside and continuing.

“At least you recognize that. What do you want me to do? I have no intention of doing any harm to Orihime or her offspring.” Ulquiorra followed the other man, keeping up with him.

“You may without meaning to. I’m sure you have noticed Inoue-san’s… Affliction.”

“Urahara told me.”

“What does he know?”

Ulquiorra scoffed. “Nothing as far as I know. He gave me some story about how Orihime couldn’t sleep and they tried everything and Kurosaki went to Soul Society for help.”

Uryu frowned. “Not exactly. This way,” he said, opening a staff door with a keycard and holding the door open for the other man.

Green eyes evaluated the other male for a moment before Ulquiorra entered the room. He kept his hands clasped together just in case the Quincy decided to pull something and try to kill him.

“So, it seems that as usual, Urahara is spreading half truths. After Kazui’s birth, Inoue—“ Uryu shook his head, realizing his mistake finally, but pressed on without correcting himself. “As I’m sure you’re aware, raising an infant presents sleeping challenges. She began having nightmares every time she was finally able to fall asleep. This continued until well after Kazui was sleeping normally; almost until his second birthday. That’s when Kurosaki decided that something had to be done. Inoue-san’s mental and physical health was deteriorating. She refused medical treatment. It was difficult for everyone, and we all had our doubts, but at the time we believed it was for the best, and Kurosaki found someone who could insert himself into another person’s memory and alter them from a chosen point forward. What this boils down to is that the only living beings with memory of what happened between you and Kurosaki on that dome are in this room.”

“Are you saying she dreamt about me? Are you saying Kurosaki erased me from her memory?” Ulquiorra was indignant. He couldn’t believe this. Orihime had no clue who he was. Then it hit him. Maybe this could be a good thing. “She has no clue what crimes I committed. She has no idea who I killed or the wrongs I’ve acted on.”

Uryu set his brow at a sharp angle and nodded. “For the time being, I’d like it to stay that way. Her memory was not only altered because of you.”

“What? Why do want it to stay that way?” Ulquiorra asked. “That woman is not Orihime. That’s a shell of her. A smear of the young woman who slapped me and protected me from Kurosaki.”

Uryu reared his head back and snorted. “Ha! Is that what you think? You clearly haven’t spent as much time with her as I thought. She is fearless now.”

Tch. What did this Quincy know? “I try not to go around her. I upset her,” Ulquiorra admitted.

“Well just because you’re tactless doesn’t mean she’s upset. I had dinner with her last week. Apart from you keeping your children apart from one another she actually seems… I wouldn’t say _fond_ is the word, but at least tolerant. She is pleased that Kazui has found a friend and that you are a superior teacher to his previous ones.”

“Kazui needs to know what boundaries are. What he did concerning my daughter was crossing a line.” The former hollow glared at the other man. “Wait, you had dinner with her?”

Ishida smiled and rolled his eyes. “Kazui Kurosaki is an innocent kid. He sees the world as friends or enemies, just like his father. And just like his father, he won’t notice what girls are until he’s at least twenty years old, I’m sure.” He chuckled after that, shaking his head. The man was amused, in retrospect, about his late friend’s obliviousness. “Anyway, yes, I had dinner with her.”

“Are you—is it—“ Ulquiorra couldn’t form the question without sounding like an idiot.

Should he? Shouldn’t he? Uryu wasn’t sure himself, but he didn’t like to shut the door to possibility, either. “Am I? Is what? Are you asking if I am romantically involved with Inoue-san?”

Again he found his mouth drawn into a line, lips pressed together. Ulquiorra turned his head away from Ishida. It wasn’t his business.

Huh. Okay, maybe mystery was a better asset, anyway. Ishida smiled and continued. “Anyway, you must have known about the hollow attack on the school last week. She single-handedly took it down in one strike. She has become powerful. She has become confident. She has become mentally strong. My fear is that should the measures Kurosaki took to handle her problem years ago fail without any kind of careful preparation, all her progress and growth would be for nothing, and she would fall into another mental breakdown. This is not the first time her memory has been altered.”

“It figured that Kurosaki would alter the story to suit his whims,” Ulquiorra replied. He shook his head, fed up and annoyed with himself. Of course Ishida and Orihime were together. It made sense. He never had a chance with her anyway. “So what do you want me to do about the woman? I’ve already stated that I plan on staying away from her.” 

“I’m asking that you not tell her or ask her too many questions about Hueco Mundo. The last time her memory was altered was seventeen months after the Winter War. The same Fullbringer, Tsukishima, cut her with his sword and modified her memories of Kurosaki. Afterwards, Kurosaki lost his Fullbring for a moment while fighting Tsukishima and another Fullbringer, causing him to collapse in despair. Inoue-san was able to see through the effect at that moment and became hysterical until the effect wore off completely. She had only been affected for a few days at that point. She has been under the effect of Tsukishima’s sword for eight years now. I believe if the illusion was shattered all at once, the results would be disastrous. And despite what you think, it wouldn’t be just because her son is her former captor’s student. She also does not know what a monster Kurosaki transformed into on top of that dome. That memory alone could… I don’t even want to think about it.”

The asking questions about Hueco Mundo--well, that was a boat that had already sailed. “Consider it done. I won’t speak to her again unless it’s about her son. But,” here Ulquiorra paused, “She knew of that monster and she still bore him a child. Everyone coddles her too much. No one gives her the credit she deserves.”

“That’s rich, coming from the same mouth that just described her as a shell of her former self,” Uryu quipped, crossing his arms over his chest and leaning back into his seat. “You know nothing of her. You have no idea about the depths of her kindness and generosity of her spirit. You have never seen her rise to the occasion and face the end of the world head on and try to stop it. She is capable and her merit is recognized by those who are able to see past her polite and accommodating countenance. I hold her in very high esteem, and as someone else that she forgave without conditions, I think you ought to as well. But it’s not any of my business what you think of her. As long as you do not harm her, I’ll look the other way.”

Ulquiorra stared at the Quincy. He had seen both sides of the woman. He knew of the human who had the balls to slap the fourth Espada. He knew of the woman who tried to explain to him what the heart was. He also knew of the girl who had reached out and barely grazed his fingertips, sobbing as he turned to dust. “What does that mean as long as I don’t harm her you’ll look the other way?” he asked.

Uryu sighed. “It means I’m not in the Quincy honor business anymore. Just because I can cut you down, doesn’t mean that I will. I have left that part of my life behind me. Soul Society or whatever has provided you with a very good gigai; I barely even noticed it was you and I am better than the best Shinigami at detecting spiritual pressure. I’m getting sidetracked. Anyway, it’s not my business why you’re here. Inoue-san is my friend, though, and I will always take it upon myself to look out for her best interests. That doesn’t mean I’m “coddling” her, as you put it. She would do the same for me or anyone else she cares for.”

“It really sounds like you have a conflict of interest to me. Her best interests? Kurosaki was just thinking of himself. When you agreed with him you were thinking about yourself. If that’s all I’ll show myself out, Ishida.”

Uryu pursed his lips and watched him go. He couldn’t argue with him. Not really.


	8. Chapter 8

“Kurosaki-san?” Eriko had slipped away from her dad, saying she wanted to get something from a shop one Saturday. She knew where Kazui lived. It was easy to walk to the cafe.

“Eri-chan! What a lovely surprise! What brings you here?” Orihime said, scooting from behind the counter to come close to the girl.

The girl blushed, awkward at being alone with Kaz’s mother. “I was wondering when Kazui’s birthday was… I’d like to get him something. He said something about kendo lessons. I know my father is looking for new students, or at least ones he deems worthy.”

“Oh, well, it was April 29th. I didn’t know your father taught kendo,” Orihime answered, taking a seat so that she could look Eri in the eye at her level.

“Oh, he made it sound like it was like his birthday was in a couple of months. I’m sorry to bother you. I thought--” Eriko paused and looked at the floor as she rubbed her fingertips together. “I just wanted to get him something nice for his birthday and for being my friend.”

Orihime gave her a warm smile. “Well, if I tell you a secret, can you keep it?”

The girl nodded. “But sometimes secrets are bad. This isn’t a bad secret, is it?”

“Nope. This is a good one.” Orihime leaned in and motioned for Eri to come closer. “Kazui has mentioned wanting to have birthday cake with you here at the shop, but has been waiting until your father says it's okay. Maybe we can make a little surprise party for him together? I could try to talk to your father?”

Automatically Eriko’s face erupted into the biggest and brightest smile. She clapped her hands and jumped up and down. “Oh please? Please Kurosaki-san! I would be happy to help you with it!”

Orihime’s grin matched the girl’s. “Yes, of course! I need your help, afterall. You are his best friend.” Orihime sighed and looked at the girl with affection for a moment, her heart swollen with longing. She had always wanted a girl, too. “Alright. Maybe… Maybe you can warm your father up for me? I’ll give you my number and send some cake and sandwiches along with you with a note for your father. I’ll call him tonight if you send me a message saying he seems like he is in a good mood.” The woman leaned in toward the girl again and scrunched her nose up a bit. “Unfortunately, the last time I talked to your dad I think I annoyed him,” she said in a funny voice, then smiled broadly. “Also, please call me Orihime.”

Orihime? Eriko was going to get to call an adult by their name? Her eyes widened and she shook her head. The girl bowed to the redheaded woman. “I couldn’t. My dad would get mad. He likes you. He says your name at night... Oh… I mean...”

Orihime’s eyes widened for a moment as she blushed brightly. She tried to cover it up as best she could. “Well, if you would prefer you can call me… um… Orihime-san?” It sounded weird in her own ears, but if the kid preferred honorifics, it would do.

“It’s funny… My dad insists on me being respectful and addressing people properly but he gets so out of sorts when someone calls him Cifer-san. Grandmother used to call him Ulquiorra-kun and he’d get so mad at her. His face would turn red and he would scrunch his face up like this,” Eri said before demonstrating the face. She giggled. “I would like to call you Orihime but only if you think it’s okay. I think you should call my dad even if he’s in a bad mood.”

“Of course you may call me Orihime, but if you don’t want to in front of your father that’s alright. Why do you think I should call him even if he’s in a bad mood?”

Eriko smiled. “He likes you. He has a picture of you.”

Orihime smiled and spoke in a flattered tone, “He does? What picture?” Inwardly she was curious and slightly worried about this.

The girl swayed side to side as she spoke. “You’re young and you’ve got on a yellow sweater and a gray skirt. It has to be a school uniform. And you have those pretty hair clips in!”

Hmm, maybe he did know her back in high school. It made sense now why he called her by her maiden name. Orihime straightened her back and looked down at Eriko a bit. “Now, Eri-chan, don’t let your imagination run wild. Sometimes grown-ups just like to be nostalgic. That doesn’t necessarily mean your dad likes me. I’m not saying this because I don’t want it to be true or anything like that, I just don’t want you jump to conclusions, okay?” She stood up after that and walked towards the counter of the cafe. “Come with me, you can help me pick some goodies out to send home. Your father always overpays when he comes in here anyway.”

***

When Ulquiorra met up with his daughter several hours later, he spied the box and the bag that had Halcyon Cafe and Gifts printed on them. He shook his head. “You could have said you went to see Kazui, Eriko.”

“I didn’t go to see Kazui, Dad.”

“Aren’t you two attached at the hip? It’s clear that you went to see--”

“I went to talk to Orihime-san. Kazui wants kendo lessons. We’re going to throw Kaz a birthday party!” 

He could not deny how this child seemed to light up when she was happy. Ulquiorra had already dimmed her fire once and he had vowed to not do it again. “You are? I suppose you told Orihime that I taught kendo, right?”

If he was expecting his child to lie, he was caught off guard when her head bobbed up and down. “I did. I know you’re looking for new students. I can tell how you study each of my classmates. You’re looking for kids who are dedicated and won’t waste your time.”

“Huh, you observe a lot, don’t you?” Ulquiorra asked as they walked to the train station. “I can’t say I blame you. I like watching people too. I like seeing how humans live their lives.”

Eriko looked up at her dad with a questioning look. Sometimes he was really strange. “Since it’s early, can we go to the park and eat lunch?”

***

Orihime called Kazui in for lunch from where he had been playing near the river soon after Eri left. As they ate, she asked him, “So, Monkey, what do you think of Cifer-sensei as a teacher?”

The boy looked at her with a mouthful of sandwich and answered before swallowing, “As a teacher? He’s pretty good, I guess. Strict, but fair. He explains things well. I mean, sometimes you can tell when a teacher isn’t very smart. He seems smart. He always knows the answer.”

Orihime nodded and said nothing.

“Why do you ask, Mom?”

“Oh, nothing, I just heard that he also teaches, um, cram school on the weekends, so I was just wondering.”

Kazui took another monster bite and nodded. 

“I’m going to talk to him again about letting Eri come and play again. I think he might have cooled off by now. How is he acting in school?”

Kazui shrugged and took another bite, mumbling through it, “I dunno.”

Orihime sighed. “Okay. Tonight after dinner I’ll try.”

***

Later that night, Orihime set Kazui up with a television show and got herself a big sweater, her phone, and a glass of wine, and then went up to the roof. She had a set of patio furniture and a grill up there. She stood near the edge and looked out over the evening view, enjoying the way the lights from the business and entertainment districts reflected off the river as it flowed. She took a couple sips of wine and took out her phone. It was about eight-thirty. The Cifers should be done with dinner by now. She opened her contacts and stopped on Ulquiorra Cifer, pressing the call button.

The first thing she heard was a sigh and then, “Orihime.”

“Hey, Ulquiorra,” she replied, her voice even and smiling. “Is this a bad time?”

“Not really. I’m trying to calm my child down from the sugar high she pushed on herself today through the many pieces of cake some woman gave her,” he stated in a flat voice. He looked at his daughter who was currently dancing around the living area and sighed again. Ulquiorra stood and went outside where it would be much quieter for this conversation. “What can I help you with?”

Orihime blushed; the first thought that crossed her mind was rather racy. Yeah, he could help her in all kinds of ways if he wasn’t such a stick in the mud, she thought as she took another sip of wine and bit her lip. “Um, a couple things, actually,” she answered, unable to keep all of the flirtatious edge out of her voice. Maybe the wine wasn’t the best idea. Oh well, maybe it would help. “First, some of that cake was for you.”

His tone changed, now sounding amused. “I know. I had some of it. Eriko ate most of it though.”

A soft laugh preceded her next question. “How was it?”

“I liked the flavor of the Earl Grey cake. Eriko tells me you make a wonderful, heavenly Matcha cake.”

She smiled. “I do, you’ll have to try it sometime.”

A brief flash of unknown emotion went through him. He felt hot and warm all at the same time. “Maybe when I get a chance again to skip school I’ll come in,” he said. “What else did you need?”

“Hmm,” she said as she took another sip, and it sounded almost like a purr. “Well, as you know, Eriko stopped by today. We wanted to have a late birthday party surprise for Kazui. I wanted to know if that would be okay with you?”

A shiver ran through him but it was barely noticeable. There was probably a chill in the air. “I can’t stop you. I also can’t stop Eri from doing what she wants. I can’t keep her from Kazui, if that much is obvious.”

“I see,” she said and took another small sip, then put her lips closer to the receiver. “Well, I’m glad you’ve had a change of heart.”

“I’ve had many changes of heart,” Ulquiorra replied. For some reason this woman was working her magic on him again. He craved her voice. He wanted to seek her out. He wanted to talk to her. Of course, he would never admit to this. He was quite ashamed of himself, looking at old pictures of her online. It wasn’t appropriate. She was with Ishida and she had been married to his killer.

“Have you?” she asked, amused. “That’s always good. “I always feel refreshed after one, myself. I had another question for you, and feel free to refuse, okay?”

Ulquiorra hummed his agreement, not trusting his voice at the moment.

“First, would you come with Eri-chan to the party, and second, would you consider taking Kazui on as a kendo student?” she asked in the same warm tone as she had been using.

Oh, so this call had a purpose other than giving Ulquiorra fantasies that he had no business thinking about. “Um, why would you want me at his party?”

“Because I like you, and I like Eri, and you are the first teacher that Kazui respects, and you’re his best friend’s dad… Any of these reasons hitting your buttons?”

She liked him? What? How could she like him? How could she like him when Ishida made it clear they were seeing each other? Clearing his throat, Ulquiorra decided to give the woman an answer. “They might be. I might need elaboration on some points.”

“What can I help you with?” She smirked.

“The first one. Why?”

“Why do I like you?”

He gave a nod but realized there was no way she could see it. “Yes,” Ulquiorra said.

“I like you. It’s simple. You’re raising an amazing daughter. You have my son’s respect. That’s miraculous. Also, I like the way you talk to me, despite how confusing the content can be.”

It felt like his heart was fluttering in his chest. He didn’t like it. Ulquiorra had felt this same thing the moment he reached out to her. He wasn’t supposed to feel as an Espada. He had embraced his aspect of death. He had embraced nothing. Then this human came along and destroyed him. As a human he had kept himself pretty walled off after the thing with Yuko. He could feel Orihime tearing down those walls. “I will take Kazui on as a student, but I don’t know if I can commit to coming to this party. Ishida says it’s not in your best interest to talk to me.”

Her tone changed to one of surprise. “You know Ishida-kun?! Is there anyone I know that you don’t?” The question was rhetorical. “Ishida is overprotective. He always has been, but what he doesn’t know won’t hurt him, right?” she asked like they were in on a secret together.

“You’d lie to the man you were dating?”

She nearly spit out her wine and spluttered, “Dating?!? You must be mistaken. Ishida-kun and I have always been friends and friends only.”

“Oh.” Great. This was just going great. Maybe if he hung up now, he’d be able to save face. “My apologies. He didn’t lead me to believe otherwise.”

Orihime laughed. “Oh, I bet. He was probably trying to scare you. Sometimes he acts like more of a dad than Isshin,” she giggled then and took another sip, and with her next breath she spoke in a soft, intimate tone, “Thank you for accepting Kazui. I’m very appreciative.”

Ulquiorra opened his mouth to speak and then promptly closed it. He wasn’t just going to blurt out whatever his brain thought was appropriate for this situation. He knew he was going to ask her how appreciative she was. “You’re welcome. Maybe Eriko and I could help you with this party?”

“Really?” The wine was affecting her, and she sounded overjoyed by this proposal. “Oh, I’d love that. When do you think we can do it?”

A small noise left Ulquiorra. He tried covering it up by clearing his throat again. Her words caused mental images that were wanted but not welcomed at the moment. “Whenever you are free.”

She hummed for a beat. “How about next Friday? I can close the shop early and I’ll send Kazui to Isshin’s after school and we can get ready?”

“What about Eriko? I mean,” Ulquiorra sighed. “I know she would want to help but I know she probably wants to spend time with Kazui.”

“Well, why don’t you leave it up to her? I’d love to have her help, but us old people can handle it on our own.”

His mouth twitched as he fought a smile. It took several moments, but he won. His face remained a blank slate. “I’m not old.”

She chuckled. “I guess I just assumed we were about the same age because of our kids and you know my people… I’m thirty-three, by the way.”

“I’m thirty-four.” The truth was, Ulquiorra didn’t really know how old he was in human time. He knew he was a little over one-hundred and fifty-four years old before Kurosaki killed him. “I’m sure we could get together before Friday and discuss details, couldn’t we? The kids can play and we could… Talk.” He rolled his eyes at himself. He must sound desperate.

“Really? That would be awesome!” She sighed. “Sorry for my lack of chill tonight. I’ll tell you a secret; I was kind of nervous to call you so I’m nursing a little glass of wine.”

Great. Orihime needed liquid courage to talk to him. She probably was one of those women that became friendly when intoxicated. “Why would you be nervous to talk to me?” Ulquiorra asked.

“Um, because the last time I talked with you, you didn’t seem to like me very much,” she admitted with a soft laugh.

“To be quite honest, I like you more than I like most people.” He waited for a moment as the words were thrown out there. Why was he saying this stuff to her? He wasn’t even supposed to be talking to her. It wasn’t good for her.

“Aww, thank you. I don’t know what I did to deserve that but I’ll take it,” she giggled again. She was quiet after that, realizing she was toeing a fine line between mild flattery and blatant flirtation. At least, what she perceived that line to be.

“If you’re free to meet we can find time tomorrow or maybe Monday; perhaps Tuesday? Any day next week?”

“I can make tomorrow or Monday work. Tuesday is Riruka’s day off so I’d like to avoid that day.”

If Ulquiorra could, he would go by the cafe everyday, but that wasn’t rational. It wasn’t realistic. It wasn’t a good thing for either of them. He knew it was only a matter of time before he pressed the issue of her memory gaps. “I--I would like to see you any day that you could make time for me. Would that be possible?”

“Um, okay,” she said, grinning. “You know where to find me,” another soft laugh. “To start why don’t you come over for lunch— Oh! Oh! We should go out and let the kids play, you’re right. That way we can conspire behind their backs,” she kind of growled the last part, ending with a giggle.

He was about to reply when the sliding glass door opened. Ulquiorra had his back to the house but he knew who it was.

“Daddy? I’m tired,” Eriko said.

“Uh, okay. Did the sugar finally wear off?” Ulquiorra asked, completely forgetting he was on the phone for a second. “Do you want me to tuck you in?”

“No! I’m too old for that! Goodnight. I’ll see you in the morning.”

The door shut and Ulquiorra found himself standing there with the phone still pressed to his ear. “Sorry,” he said to Orihime.

“Mm-mm,” she hummed in disagreement. “Don’t be sorry. That was nice to hear,” she replied. It was the first time she used that soft, intimate tone without a trace of innuendo. That was pure, dreamy admiration in her voice.

“What? It was nice hearing that I’m not a dick all the time?” He gave a terse laugh. “I’ll see you tomorrow Orihime. Feel free to call or text me.”

She scoffed at the dick comment but let it go. “Alright. Goodnight, Ulquiorra. See you tomorrow.”

After Ulquiorra hung up he went back inside to finish what he was doing before the woman called. Once the dishes were done, he climbed the stairs to his bedroom. Of course he checked on Eriko who was curled up in her bed, fast asleep.

A feeling of guilt went through him as he looked at his daughter. She should have a mother. She needed a mother--someone who was caring and loving. She deserved it. Eriko was smart. She was beautiful--of course she was, Yuko didn’t have a horseface and from what he gathered, he was attractive. 

The thing that kept going through his train of thought was the fact that if Kurosaki had just left Hueco Mundo and left Orihime in that throne room, none of this would have happened. She would have shown him what a heart was. Still there was the fact he had been an Arrancar and she was still a human.

He sighed and looked down at the phone in his hand and wished it would vibrate with a text message or ring with another phone call.

***

Orihime finished her glass of wine with a smile on her face, watching the Karakura lights and enjoying a wistful, romantic mood. Ichigo crossed her mind. They had been so young when they got together. So tired and so battle-weary, but so innocent to love. The feeling she felt tonight was entirely different. She knew what she was missing, now. He had a child, meaning he had had sex at least once, so he knew, too. They had entirely different priorities than she and Ichigo had back then. It was nice, though. She didn’t feel that overwhelming self-doubt and obsessive questioning and need for acceptance. This was… It was on its own terms. She was attracted to Ulquiorra, but she didn’t _need_ his acceptance for her life to be complete. It felt balanced. It felt… Healthy. It felt grown-up. She chuckled at that idea, polished off her wine, and went to bed.

The next morning she woke up and made breakfast for her and Kazui. She took her cup of coffee to the living room and turned on the morning news and got her phone out, getting a text prepared to send to Ulquiorra.

\- Good morning! Coffee and question time. I’ll be dressed in about an hour and a half. I’m watching TV for the weather news but it hasn’t let me know what to expect yet. Any requests for today’s activities?

Eriko had been told the news that they were going to Karakura Town to visit the Kurosakis and she started screeching with glee. Ulquiorra almost threatened to retract the day’s activity. It was all too much before his morning cup of coffee. Then his phone vibrated. He put the cup up to his lips as he read the words on the screen.

-You don’t need to get dressed. 

He sent the text off before he finished it. Ulquiorra sighed. It was definitely too early to hear a screeching ten year old tell him how great of a dad he was. He tried to ignore Eriko’s babbling as he went upstairs to get a shower and then get dressed.

Orihime read the text and almost dropped her phone. Surely he didn’t mean what it looked like.

\- No? Did you change your mind?

That was the only plausible inference, she thought. She was glad she hadn’t mentioned anything to Kazui yet. She set her phone to the side and sighed.

He pulled on the light gray jeans he had chosen for today along with a darker gray long sleeved t-shirt before he answered her text. Ulquiorra shook his head.

-No. I was--I’m horrible at social interactions. 

After sending the text he realized he had tried flirting with her only to crash and burn spectacularly. It was a lost cause.

She got the text and narrowed her eyes at it. He was either being extremely forward or just incomprehensible. Either way, he wasn’t blowing them off, and she was glad for that.

\- Oh, okay. No worries! It looks like it’s going to be kind of warm today, and partly sunny. Did you still want to go to the park? We can go to the one that the kids used to go to after school.

Ulquiorra’s hopes were smashed as he read her reply while he was combing his hair. This woman probably thought he was an idiot. Maybe she was oblivious to stuff like that. Was her love for her late husband so great that she saw no other man’s advances? Maybe he needed to be more forthcoming with his intentions.

-I was trying to flirt, badly. We can do whatever you wish. If you’d like to take a stroll in the park while Eriko and Kazui play that will be suitable.

She had just taken a sip of coffee when she brought up his message, and promptly spit it back into the cup. He had meant that! Holy… Moly.

\- Wow. I mean, um… I guess it’s been awhile since I’ve been flirted with. LOL. *^_^*

She sent that and followed it up right away with another one.

\- Sorry for being an awkward weirdo. The park sounds perfect. Are you going to need more coffee? I can make a thermos full and bring it along. How do you take it?

She sent him a smiley face. Ulquiorra’s face appeared slightly horrified at the gesture. He remembered his friends in college would spam him with the text based smiles. It irked him. When Eriko sent him emojis, he would lecture her about the importance of communication. Still, this woman was an adult and could do as she pleased. 

Ulquiorra took a screenshot of the message as he left his room, making sure he had everything that he would need. “Eriko? Get a move on, you’ve got fifteen minutes before I get into the car and leave.”

His offspring squealed again. “We’re gonna take the car? Oh my! We never take the car anywhere!”

He read the next text from Orihime. Maybe he should just call her. It would clear the air a bit and he could plainly state what he was thinking… Not that he would ever say it, but still, it was the thought that counted, right? With a deep breath, he dialed Orihime’s number.

She was just about to get in the shower when he called, the hot water causing steam to fill up the bathroom. “Hello?” she answered in a sing-songy tone.

“Good morning,” Ulquiorra said. “Did I disturb you?”

“No, I have a minute, I was just about to hop into the shower. What’s up?”

That was not a welcomed mental image. Nope. He did not need that at this moment. “I just wanted to clarify my text message,” Ulquiorra answered.

“Oh,” she responded, sounding pleased. “Shoot.”

“It was improper of me. I apologize. I just find you attractive and...” Ulquiorra looked up at the ceiling, trying to think of the word he wanted to use. What was he doing? Should he even tell her? Would she appreciate the bluntness of his words? “I was never a good flirt. I’ve not had many interactions with many females in a romantic capacity.”

“Oh,” Oh, she echoed mentally. He just put it all out there. No games here. “Well,” she giggled, biting her bottom lip. She was tempted to just tell him that she found him attractive too, but she didn’t want to appear… What was the word? This was new territory for her, too. She had only ever been with Ichigo. He didn’t really flirt, either. It was all friendship with him until his awkward confession and then they moved directly onto dating. “I think you’ll find that I’m worse than you in that regard, so don’t feel too discouraged,” she finally replied, then bit down on her lip harder. She hoped he understood what she was getting at.

He exhaled. Loudly. “Well, the truth is, Eriko’s mother and I--it was a one time thing. I’m not one to play head games or do the entire mind fuck. I’m rather straightforward with my thoughts,” Ulquiorra said. He felt like his face was on fire as he spoke. Why was he doing this to himself? He could have had a nice, happy, and lonely life, but now he was standing in his kitchen talking to a woman who did not remember him and trying to convey he’d like to have some type of relationship with her. 

Ever since Orihime Inoue walked into his life, it seemed she was going to disturb it every time. “What would you like to do today? With or without the children?”

She thought about it for a moment, her only response her slow, calm breath in the receiver. “I think, I would just like to talk with you, Ulquiorra. I’d like to get to know you better.”

“That is agreeable. I’ll see you in a bit then,” he said before hanging up. He heard a giggle behind him and saw his daughter wearing a pair of overalls and a lightweight long sleeved striped t-shirt with her hand over her mouth. Ulquiorra raised an eyebrow at her. “What?”

“You’re going on a date!” Eriko said with a huge smile on her face.


	9. Chapter 9

Orihime panicked when he had said, “see you in a bit then.” She was nowhere near ready, and Kazui was still in his pajamas with his head buried in a bowl of cereal. She opened the door a crack and shouted to him, “Kazui! Get dressed, we’re going to the park to meet Eriko and her dad in twenty minutes!

The boy nearly dropped his bowl. “Really?!” 

“Yep! Move it or lose it, Monkey!” she said in a bright voice before closing the door and getting into the shower. She shaved and lathered and rinsed, keeping her hair out of the water. She dried off and set her curling iron before running to her room in a towel and throwing open her closet. She smoothed some lotion onto her body as she considered her options.

It was a warm day.

It would be partially sunny.

It was… It was kind of a date.

She picked out a bright yellow halter dress with a sparse floral pattern that tied behind her neck. The skirt part was full and flowy and hit just above her knees. She pulled out a short-sleeved, light-gray cardigan for the walk over, and found a pair of comfortable brown leather walking sandals with multiple straps and a low wedge heel. It was cute. It wasn’t overly fussy.

Shoot! She was going to bring coffee! She ran to the bathroom and dealt with her hair, just putting a couple loose waves in where her hair had kinked in her sleep and then decided that was as good as it got with the time she had. She put on mascara and lip gloss and unplugged the curling iron and called to Kazui, “Meet me down at the shop in five minutes or I’m leaving without you!”

She used a french press and brewed some coffee using the tea water that was always on. In the meantime, she gathered some sweet bready treats and wrapped them up and filled a canteen with lemonade for the kids. By the time that was done, so was the coffee. She strained it into a thermos, grabbed some to-go cups and threw it all together into a bag and was ready just as Kazui came downstairs.

“You’re wearing that?” she asked, eyeing his outfit and raising an eyebrow at his track pants that were much too short for him and his Karakuraizers T-shirt. “Okay,” she said, shaking her head. He looked like he had gotten dressed in the dark. “Let’s go.”

They arrived at the park about ten minutes after they left the shop. Orihime had tasked Kazui with carrying the goodies about a third of the way there. It was warmer than she had anticipated, and she didn’t want to break out into a sweat before she met Ulquiorra. Or maybe it was just nerves, she didn’t know.

***

Of course his offspring teased him on the entire drive over. “You asked her out!”

“I did not.”

“Do I need to quote you?”

“Eriko Cifer, I will call Orihime and tell her I changed my mind.”

The girl giggled. “You brought the car out, Dad. You’re trying to impress someone. When is the last time you drove?”

“Your point?”

“You didn’t even put your hair up. You left it down.” Eriko took after her dad when it came to lethal blows. She didn’t care as long as she came out on top and was the victor.

When they pulled up to the park, Ulquiorra felt nervous as he exited the car. It was his daughter who spotted the orange-haired boy. “KAZUI!” she shouted and waved.

“EEEEERIIIII!” He called back, jogging toward them, then breaking into a run with a huge grin on his face. “Hi Cifer-sensei,” he called in passing before he stopped in front of his daughter. “Wanna play hide and seek?”

Orihime came around the corner of a hedgerow then. “Good morning! I have coffee!” she said with a bright smile, holding up the bag on her arm.

As soon as Orihime came into view, Ulquiorra heard Eriko giggle and he turned to stare at his daughter. “Go play,” he stated with a wave of his hand.

With a smirk on her face the girl grabbed the boy’s arm and they both took off running. Ulquiorra watched them before he turned his attention back to the woman. “Hello, uh,” he said but trailed off as his eyes took in her appearance. Why was his throat suddenly dry?

Orihime watched the kids scamper off and laughed until she brought her eyes back to Ulquiorra. She took a moment to appreciate him. He looked put-together. He had a good eye for clothing. His hair was much less elementary-school teacher and much more rockstar than she would have anticipated. She rather liked it, she realized, and swallowed. Her mouth was watering. She cleared her throat. “Did you want some coffee or that stroll, first?”

“Madam’s choice,” he said, fighting hard not to let his eyes roam over her small form anymore than they had.

“Coffee, then. This bag is heavy,” she decided, setting her sights on a nearby bench.

He walked behind Orihime and got an eyeful, watching how she moved. Ishida was right. She did seem more confident and self-assured, but there was also something in her voice and eyes that suggested otherwise. Ulquiorra had to wonder how bad the nightmares were. What did these dreams contain? Was he the villain in them? When they reached the bench, Ulquiorra waited for her to sit down before he took a seat next to Orihime. “If you had told me, we could have picked you up.”

“Oh, I didn’t know you drove,” she said, offering him a smile. “I only got my license two years ago.”

“I don’t like driving, so I rarely use the car. Sato said it would make more sense then dragging an infant on the train. I wore her wherever I could, but when Eriko would get sick, it didn’t make sense to take her on the train to see a doctor. When we moved up here from Kanagawa, Sato demanded that I get my license.”

“Wow, you wore her?” She looked at him with appreciation and surprise. “Kazui’s dad never did anything like that; the baby stuff was all up to me. I mean, there were some things he _couldn’t_ do, and he changed the occasional diaper, but he didn’t really seem to get that Kaz was a real person until he started walking,” she said with a half smile. “Why was Eri sick, if you don’t mind my asking?”

“We’re not sure. She had a lot of breathing trouble as a kid. I’d have to cart her to the clinic for coughing. She would get ear infections. Sato’s sister would tell me that she had bad spirits inside of her. Auntie is really superstitious. I had to do everything with Eriko, so I didn’t get that luxury of only doing things on occasions,” Ulquiorra said. He looked across the park where his daughter was running away from Kazui and screaming with joy. “She’s fine now.” 

“Better than fine, I’d say. I always wanted another one; a girl,” she sighed. “But look at you two. She’s clearly very bonded to you and you’ve raised her with these wise older women around. She is probably the nicest girl I’ve ever met.” Her eyes were glued to the children as she spoke. “I think the luxury is being the one the child counts on and is bonded to the most. I would do all that work and lose all that sleep all over again if it meant I got to re-experience those hugs and the I love you, Moms.”

Ulquiorra’s body stiffened as she said the word sleep. He knew her late husband would not agree with that sentiment. “I can assure you that Eriko was a mistake, a surprise and a blessing all rolled into a pink bundle. I can’t deny her though. She looks like her mother but she has my eyes and hair. I took it upon myself to raise her since her mother wouldn’t.”

He looked to another part of the park as the memories of that letter shoved its way into his brain. Ulquiorra still had it in a box in his closet. The same box that held his helmet held all those memories and things that he found joy and sorrow with.

“Hmm, her mother must have been very beautiful. Eriko is a lovely girl.” She took the thermos out of her bag. “Coffee?”

Ulquiorra shrugged. “Yuko might have been beautiful but she went about things the wrong way,” he muttered. He turned back to Orihime and looked at what she was offering. Normally he would only have one cup of coffee in the morning to wake himself up and then consume tea or water for the rest of the day. Having another cup wouldn’t hurt. “Sure, please.”

She smiled and poured him a cup, then passed it to him. “I have some creamer cups in here if you want any, and some sugar packets. I also brought some goodies but I thought we could share them with the kids later. I brought some lemonade for them.” She poured herself a cup and waited for his answer about the additions.

“Black, no additives,” he replied, taking the cup from her. “I don’t think Eri needs anymore sugar. She was dead to the world until I woke her up this morning.”

Orihime cringed. “I’m sorry; I sometimes go overboard spoiling her. She is just so easy to please and it’s so gratifying to hear that little happy squeal she does,” Orihime trailed off, looking at him apologetically. “The goodies I brought today are not cakes or cookies though. Good old red bean paste buns and apple bread. Not _so_ sweet.”

The mention of red bean paste buns took Ulquiorra back in time to when Aizen ordered him to follow the girl around. She ate weird things back then. “Do you still like leeks?” He asked before taking a sip of coffee.

Orihime snorted, then laughed, throwing her head back a bit. “Oh my god, I had forgotten about how much I depended on leeks for sustenance. I no longer use them as a staple; just in, like, hot pots and whatever. How did you know about my leek obsession?” she asked, looking at him with a playful smile.

“I just remember you talking about some recipe with them in it,” Ulquiorra said. He was lying to her and he knew it. Fucking Ishida. Dammit, Kurosaki. An unpleasant look came over his face. “Leek pancakes maybe?”

“Ooh, now you’ve made me hungry for Korean food,” she said trailing off and looking aside before snapping her eyes back to his and laughing. She stopped to take a sip of her coffee. “So, enough about me and my bizarre food inclinations. What about you? What do you enjoy?”

His mouth opened. His mouth closed. Ulquiorra had to think long and hard about this question. What did he enjoy? “Meaning activities or concerning sustenance?” It was an innocent question. Although he had been in the world of humans for seventeen years, he hadn’t fully caught onto everything.

“Both. Either. I want to know about you, Ulquiorra. If you are going to be visiting my shop with any kind of frequency, I had better have something on the menu that you’re going to like.”

He had just taken another drink of coffee which he ended up almost inhaling. Ulquiorra started coughing and hit his chest a couple of times trying to breathe correctly. His eyes slid over to where the redhead sat before he fully turned his head. “I think anything you put on the menu is something I’m going to like,” Ulquiorra replied. He internally winced at his lame attempt at flirting again. She probably wouldn’t get it.

She was worried as he seemed to choke on his coffee, and her face had fallen in concern. At his response, one half of her face curled up into a smirk. “Oh yeah? You sound easy to please. I wouldn’t have thought so.”

“Truthfully, I can’t really tell you what I like. I mostly go with what Eriko wants. I like peanut butter, the stuff you can get at the foreign food market. I enjoyed your tea flavored cake. I like tea.”

The other half of her face joined in to make a pinched smile. Her attempt at flirting had totally fallen flat. Oh well. At least he hadn’t seemed to notice, so no harm done. She let her emotions relax and she leaned back into the bench. “I’m glad you like that one; it’s one of my favorites. And I can’t say I’ve ever tried foreign peanut butter. Maybe you can bring some next time?”

“Next time? You mean you want to see me--us, Eriko and I again?” Ulquiorra looked at her and then down at the cup in his hands.

She nodded, but he wasn’t looking. “Yeah, of course I do. I told you I like you, Ulquiorra. I don’t say stuff like that to just anybody. I don’t know what it is about you, but I feel like...” she pursed her lips into a small, thoughtful pout and looked into the distance for a moment. “I feel like I can be myself around you and you’re not going to change your mind about me. I mean, I’ve been wrong before, but meh. I’ll be wrong again I’m sure. Plus, I’ll be honest, you’re pretty easy on the eyes.”

His eyes took on an amused expression, letting them squint just a bit as he looked back at her. “Maybe, maybe not,” Ulquiorra replied.

***  
  


As soon as the kids were out of sight, Eriko turned to Kazui. Her previous happy face turned serious. “Kazui! My dad asked your mom on a date.”

The boy stopped short and furrowed his brows in confusion. “Why?” The idea was completely baffling to him.

“Because,” she said putting her hands on her hips, “they like each other. I heard my dad talking to her. He wants to see her whenever he can.” 

His features smoothed out then and he blew a raspberry. “Oh, that doesn’t mean anything. I want to see you whenever I can. That just means they’re friends, right?” he said, nodding like it all made perfect sense. Sometimes Eri was so weird, looking for secrets that weren’t there. He grinned and started to run off again.

She followed him, unsure if her dad and Orihime were friends. They seemed like friends one moment and then they didn’t like each other the next. 

***

After Ulquiorra finished his coffee he looked over at the redhead. They sat in companionable silence for several minutes. “You can ask me any one question and I’ll answer,” he finally said.

“Oh, okay, hmmm. Better make it a good one, then,” she said, surprised at this game he seemed to want to play. “What do you like in a woman?”

Okay, maybe he didn’t want to answer her questions. He thought about it for a moment. Ulquiorra couldn’t just blurt out the word _you_. It took him several seconds to compare Yuko with Orihime. Both women had sweet faces. They were tiny compared to him. Yuko had been silent and unemotional; someone he didn’t need to explain his past to. Orihime, on the other hand, knew him… Well, she would have been familiar with him had Kurosaki not tried to play shrink. It was a hard question to answer. “Um, personality wise or appearance?”

“Aw, I have to pick one?” she asked in a disappointed tone. She was hoping for a list of attributes.

“Well, you don’t. I guess...” he paused again. Ulquiorra furrowed his eyebrows. “I like someone I can be myself around. Someone who will accept my silence and not try to judge me too harshly for what I’ve done. I guess I like tiny women.”

She gave him an amused smile, and asked, “Are we talking, like, pocket-sized, or just on the small side of human?”

It almost made him smile. His lips twitched. “The small side of human, I guess. Shorter than me. I also like women that can take charge and know how to handle situations. I’d like someone who could challenge me and not back down.”

Her smile morphed into a more knowing kind of expression and she looked over at the kids and nodded with a thoughtful hum before commenting, “Yeah, at this point in life that feels like a necessity. Okay, your turn. One question.”

“Did you get your five life--” Shit. No he couldn’t ask that. No one else had been in the room when she visited Kurosaki that night. “What does Halcyon mean? Why did you name your business that?”

“Halcyon? It’s an English word that describes a period of time in the past that was idyllic and peaceful. A time that feels like a perfect, tranquil, beautiful dream. I wanted to create a space that makes people feel like that for a moment. I tried, anyway,” she laughed in self-deprecation. ”That’s why I got into the plants and flowers. I just tried to cram as much stuff into it that made me feel happy and hoped it does the same for the customers. Do you think I got close?”

Ulquiorra glanced at her. “Is that your question for me?”

Oh, so this was a back and forth thing. “Sure.”

“I think you created the perfect space for you. Everyone creates their perfect space. It just takes time to carve out the place that you want,” Ulquiorra replied. He bit his lip. Fuck Ishida. Fuck being a coward. He wanted to know. “Did you get your five lifetimes of happiness?”

Her eyes widened in wonder and she stared at him with her mouth parted. “How--” she stopped, breathing somewhat heavily and swallowing. Who was this man? How would he know something like that? Oh. Ohhhh. He knew Tsukishima. That was the only answer. Only Tsukishima knew about what she had said to Ichigo that night. Okay. It made more sense now. That’s how he knew about Shinigami and Quincies and Fullbringers, even if he wasn’t one. She took a reassuring breath and then smiled a small, wry quirk of the lips. “No. As it turns out, most of us only get one life. And wedding vows expire at death. And even those with the power to defy god can’t--” she stopped, feeling her throat grow thick and her tone grow bitter. She didn’t want to do this today. This was supposed to be fun. And it wasn’t Ulquiorra’s fault what happened to Ichigo. She blinked a few times and took a deep breath. “Okay, my turn, let me see…”

Why did the change in her voice and expression make him feel guilty? He upset her all the time. Ulquiorra did not see why she wanted to be around him when he did this. It didn’t make sense. If he had still been an Espada, he wouldn’t have cared about how she felt. “You can ask me anything,” he said.

She wanted to ask about how he knew Tsukishima, but she didn’t want to sour the mood anymore, so she went in a different direction. “What was your first impression of me?”

“Trash. I said you were trash.” The words came out on their own and Ulquiorra didn’t bother to cover up his embarrassment. 

Orihime’s reaction at first was shock, but her face slowly grew into a grin that forced her eyes closed and then she burst out into a fit of laughter, clutching at her stomach and lurching forward. “Oh, Ulquiorra, you have to warn me before you say something like that, I almost spilled my coffee,” she said, wiping at her eyes and trying to stop herself. “You don’t mince words, do you?”

“I don’t see the point of it.” Ulquiorra turned his head to look at the park, eyes scanning over the area for the children. He spotted orange and then glanced at Orihime. “I was wrong in my assessment. Because one man’s trash is another person’s treasure. I realized this too late.”

She regarded him carefully after that statement. Was he referring to Ichigo? He must be. Was he telling her that she was worthy of being treasured? Or that he had observed her being treasured? Either way, it wasn’t her turn. Her smile gentled. “Your turn.”

“What is a heart?”

She turned her smile toward the children. “You know, I used to think I knew definitely, but the longer I live, the more I learn about it. It’s the little things and the big things. It’s what connects individuals. It’s the warmth when you see them smile at you like you’re their whole world,” she said softly, then turned her face to his. “It’s the kindness from a friend. The touch of a lover. It’s the feeling you have when you miss someone. That’s what I think, anyway.”

Ulquiorra regarded her answer carefully. This was certainly not the same Orihime that he had held captive in Hueco Mundo. “Hmmm,” he murmured.

She chuckled voicelessly. “You think I’m full of shit, don’t you?” she asked, her smile growing and her eyes narrowing.

“Why would I think that?”

She hummed in a way that meant she didn’t know, shrugging her shoulders. “It’s just the impression that I get.”

“Sometimes,” Ulquiorra answered. “What was your first impression of me?”

The corners of her lips curled up slightly. “I thought you were afraid of me, like you thought I had some kind of infectious disease.” She huffed a small laugh and added, “I thought you were pretty cute, though.”

“You’ve said that several times in so many ways.”

She shrugged, looking back out at the park. “I call it like I see it. So, it’s my turn. Where do you live? You drove over here so I assume it’s not especially close.”

“I live on the outskirts of Naruki City. Like, my house is in the mountains, almost,” Ulquiorra replied. “Sato wanted to move up here after her husband died.”

“Wow, so you commute every morning? That’s a bit inconvenient for you. You don’t mind it, though?” She had forgotten their Q and A game and was just making conversation now. “I wonder if I can see your house from my roof. I get a fantastic view of downtown Karakura and Naruki City across the river.”

Ulquiorra looked at her and then shook his head. “My house is surrounded by trees. That’s the only thing I can see. And I don’t mind it. It’s been home since Eriko was a little over two years old.”

“Wow, so we could have run into each other before and not realized it,” she murmured.

“I doubt it. I keep mostly to myself. Eriko dragged me to your cafe because I had her stuck at Urahara’s for a couple of hours.” He said the statement absently.

“Urahara? I haven’t seen him in a long time. Alright. I have to know. How do you know Ichigo and Ishida and Urahara and Tsukishima?”

“I know Kurosaki because I fought him. I know Ishida because I fought him. I know Urahara because he gave me a gigai. I do not know Tsukishima,” Ulquiorra said, leveling a stare at Orihime. She was right that he wasn’t one to mince words. He was also not one to lie about things. 

Her eyes widened. “When did you fight them? Was there another battle I was sidelined on?” she asked, a flicker of hurt expressed in her brow. “Or did it happen while I was captive?”

“You could say that,” he stated.

“Oh,” she said in a small voice, then pursed her lips together. “Um, if you don’t mind me asking, when and why did you switch sides?”

“I did--” He was about to say that he didn’t switch sides, but when Ulquiorra thought about it, he had switched sides. He had done it when that Vasto Lorde was about to fire a Cero at Orihime. That was when he used the last of his strength to defy Aizen. Then he reached out to her as his body started dissolving. “I never switched sides.”

She looked at him, trying to decipher what he was saying. “So when the Winter War ended, you just asked Urahara for a gigai and he handed one over? I know that guy is weird, but that seems fishy.”

This made Ulquiorra snort. “I died and for some reason I found myself awake in Hueco Mundo again.” He stopped speaking, hoping she would realize what he was saying.

“What? You got a do-over?” she chuckled until the realization hit. “So you’re… an Arrancar? I mean, are you still hollow? How is that even possible?” She whispered the question, quite unable to understand or believe what she thought he was saying to her.

“I am a former Espada. I’m not quite sure what I am now, though. Urahara doesn’t know either. We went over this together. Two brilliant minds couldn’t give an excuse to why I was alive again. The other day when I was speaking to Ishida… I… I moved using Sonido.”

It was when he said that he had been an Espada that it happened. She was hit with an inexplicable urge to reach out and embrace him. She didn’t know why. She couldn’t understand it. She was never in a situation that would have caused her to feel affection toward an Espada. The closest relationship she had had in Hueco Mundo was with Tsukishima. Her eyes became unfocused, and she stared through Ulquiorra, her mouth slack and her eyes looking at something in the distance that was not really there, twitching back and forth in tiny movements. She was not responsive during this episode.

It was then Ulquiorra saw what Ishida had been talking about. Orihime just seemed to check out but she looked so lost at the same time. He touched her shoulder with the back of his hand, hoping to snap her out of this.

Ishida had touched her shoulders. She was screaming. There was a horrible monster with the horns of a bull. A mindless, seemingly all-powerful being. It was unstoppable. The feeling of despair that welled within her was too much. A red ball light began to form, and she closed her eyes tightly and screamed, “No! Please stop!”

It was the scream that snapped her out of it. Her head shook and her eyes widened. She saw Ulquiorra’s face, his hand at her shoulder, and she looked terrified. Her hands reached for his shoulders, gripping the fabric of his shirt as she nearly crawled into his lap as she searched his face for answers. “What happened? Where are we?” she asked, gasping for breath.

“We’re at the park. You blanked out,” Ulquiorra managed to say, his body freezing at her touch. His muscles tensed and he had to remain calm. The last time a woman touched him, Yuko drugged him and they had sex. He swore that would never happen again; Ulquiorra could live without being touched.

She blinked at him, reality slowly coming back to her as her breathing calmed down. After a minute she sat back and smoothed out the wrinkles her fists had left in his shirt. “I’m sorry, I don’t know what came over me,” she said in a small, humiliated voice.

He remained tense until she was back in her spot on the bench. “It’s alright. Everyone gets a moment. Do you want to cut this short?” Ulquiorra peered at Orihime, hoping she would say no, but she looked like hell at that moment. “I could take you and Kazui home.”

She took a deep breath and smiled. He was awfully kind for a former Espada. “No, I couldn’t do that to the kids. They’re having such a good time.” She sighed. “I may take you up on the ride home later, though. I also think a bit of sugar would do me a world of good.”

Sitting there slightly baffled, Ulquiorra let his eyes wander over her face and body for a moment. “I would be glad to take you home,” he said. “Also, you look nice today. That dress compliments your coloring. It unexpectedly suits you.”

She looked at him and a smile that stretched her lips apart greeted him. “You’re a sweet-talker, but thank you. I hoped you would like it. Um, I’m going to dip into the kids’ lemonade. Do you want some? Or do you think we should round them up in a minute for a snack?”

“Eriko will come tell you she’s hungry or thirsty,” Ulquiorra said. “If you drink it all I’m sure there’s a place to grab them some juice or something.”

“Just a little,” she said, pouring some into her empty coffee cup. “Sure you don’t want some?”

He shook his head at the offer again. “I’m fine. Really, I too will let you know if I require food or water.”

“Just like--” she stopped short. It would be rude to compare him to a dog, no matter how much she liked the animals. “Just like Kazui. So, former Espada, how did you decide to become a teacher? Did you train fraccion or something in Hueco Mundo?” It was weird to her how easy it was to continue the conversation after his shocking revelation. She was kind of proud of how cool she was about it, and smiled to herself.

Another shrug. “It was decided for me.”

She gave him an appraising look. “Oh? Well it must be destiny then, because according to Kazui, you are an excellent teacher.”

“I have a lot of patience.” Ulquiorra could feel the atmosphere between them changing. He should have never opened his mouth and triggered her attack. It was wrong of him to keep pressing the subject of her trying to remember. It wouldn’t do any good. “Most schools just want teachers that can keep kids in line.”

She gave him a sly smile, “Are you good at keeping people in line?” 

“You should know.”

Her eyebrow rose. “Did we have a thing that I don’t remember?” She expected him to deny it.

A scoff. Then a snort. They had something as prisoner and guard. He had threatened to tie her down and force her to eat. He demanded that Grimmjow hand the girl back over to him. Who else shared the knowledge of this lie? Was there another Espada in on it? “Kind of.”

She blushed. Hard. “Oh. No wonder, then,” she murmured, biting her lip and looking to the side. This was embarrassing, that she was sitting here flirting with the first man who had turned her on since her husband’s death, only to learn that they had had some kind of relationship in the past. It was also a bit thrilling.

“Like I said, you slapped me.” Ulquiorra gave her just a ghost of a smile before letting his face fall flat again. “It’s getting cloudier. Did you want to take a walk?”

She grinned and nodded. “Let me just gather this stuff up,” she said, grabbing their used cups and the thermos and canteen and putting them away. Despite the lack of sun, it was a lot warmer than it had been when they arrived, and she peeled her cardigan off her arms and put it in the bag as well. “There, that’s better,” she muttered as she hoisted the strap of the bag into her shoulder. “Lead the way.”

His mouth went dry as he saw her bare back and shoulders. This wasn’t supposed to happen. This wasn’t supposed to happen. Ulquiorra pushed the sleeves of his shirt up his arms and took the bag from Orihime. “I can put this in the car, if you’d like,” he said, still staring at her.

“Oh! That’s a great idea, thank you,” she said, raising her arms up to re-fluff the hair that had been crushed by the strap, and then letting it fall down onto her bare upper back. “It really is starting to get warm, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, yeah it is.”


	10. Chapter 10

The rest of their time together was pleasant and casual, until Eriko came up to them, smiling and giggling. It made Ulquiorra roll his eyes. “What, spawnling?”

“Dad!” she whined at his pet name for her. “I’m hungry and I need a drink.”

He wanted to tell his child that he needed a drink too but he didn’t think she’d get the reference. “Orihime has snacks for you and Kazui--”

“KAZ!!! YOUR MOM BROUGHT SNACKS!”

Wow, his daughter was loud.

“I know!” Kazui called back, jogging toward her. “After snack, I’m not going to go easy on you anymore. Mom, she thinks she can beat me at a race,” he said like it was hilarious.

“Don’t tease your friend, Kazui, it’s not nice,” she scolded gently.

“I beat him once. I can do it again,” Eriko chimed in with a smug look on her face. “He can’t even find me when we play hide and seek.”

Ulquiorra shook his head. “I hope you’re being careful, Eriko.”

The girl didn’t answer him, she just gave him a side-eyed glance. His daughter was more like him than he realized.

Kazui glared at her. “You cheat.”

Orihime felt like her son was treading into dangerous footing. “Kazui, I’m sure she doesn’t cheat. You just aren’t very thorough. You can’t even find the remote for the TV when it’s right in front of your face sometimes.”

The boy scoffed. “Whatever, Mom, where are the snacks?” he whined.

“Don’t _whatever, mom_ me, Mister! I didn’t suffer to bring you into this world just to have you sass me in public. Go with Cifer-sensei and get the snacks out of the car. You can carry them back yourself, with that attitude.”

Ulquiorra was going to reprimand the kid for being an asshole but when Orihime laid into him, his opinion about the woman shifted just a tiny bit. Why did he keep going back and forth about her and how she used to be? It was normal that humans evolved and adapted to their surroundings. He looked at Kazui and nodded before he started walking towards the parking spot. “You shouldn’t give your mother a hard time,” he said quietly.

The kid sighed. “I know, it’s just, she always…” he trailed off. He couldn’t tell his teacher about how his mom didn’t let him play shinigami. He took a deep breath. “She always makes me hold back. It makes me feel stuck, sometimes. She promised me I could switch from aikido to kendo when I turned ten, but it’s been over a month and I’m still stuck in stupid aikido,” he grumbled.

“Hmmm with an attitude like that, it makes me wonder if I should have agreed to be your teacher,” Ulquiorra replied. “She holds you back because she’s had more experience than you. She wants better for you.”

“What do you mean she agreed for you to be my teacher?” the kid’s face lit up.

“Shit,” he said. “She called me last night and asked if I would be your kendo teacher. You’re not old enough to join a club and I’m sure any other hack would take your mother’s money and half-ass teach you what you need to know.”

“Oh my god, seriously?!” Kazui squawked and spun around in a circle. “Yes! Yes! Yes! This is the best day of my life! Oh my god, thank you Cifer-sensei! This is awesome!” he said, dancing around his teacher in a circle and punching at the air.

Ulquiorra probably should have kept that to himself, but seeing the smile on the boy’s face was nice. He wanted to put a smile on his mother’s face. What the hell? Shaking his head, he continued to the car. “You are not to tell anyone about this until your mother gives you confirmation. You are not to disrespect her. No more fighting or visits to the teacher’s room. You must learn restraint. Understood, Kurosaki?”

Kazui scurried to Ulquiorra’s front and stood at attention, arms pressed to his sides, and bowed at a ninety degree angle. “Yes, Cifer-sensei! I understand! I’ll learn restraint!”

“Good,” Ulquiorra stated before unlocking the car. He fished the bag from where he’d put it and handed it to Kazui. “When we get back to your mother, you will apologize.”

“Okay!” he agreed, bowing again and taking the bag before running back to the ladies.

***

The following Friday was the day they had chosen for Kazui’s surprise party, but the details hadn’t been hammered out completely. Orihime had told the staff they could go home at around three o’clock and she’d be closing early for a private event, then she texted Ulquiorra.

\- So, did you talk to Eri-chan? Did she want to help get ready for this party or is she leaving it to us old farts while she distracts the birthday boy?

Ulquiorra was packing things into his bag as he watched his daughter clean things. She had gotten a bit mouthy with him and so he assigned her a task. She thought just because he gave her an inch she could just take off running with it. Typical kid. It wouldn’t fly with him. His phone vibrated in his pocket. 

It was Orihime, and for some reason, his heart beat faster at seeing her name on his screen.

-She will be distracting Kazui today. She decided to mouth off to me so I’m tempted to have her help you rather than play with him. I’m glad that you texted me today.

She smiled as she replied.

\- Oh? Why are you glad? Let me know what you decide as soon as you can. I can leave some things for her to help with if she comes, otherwise I’m fine with just you here to distract me, lol

His eyes took in her words with just the hint of a smile, the corner of his mouth tilting up instead of down. 

-Because I like you. I want to distract you.

He could do this flirting thing.

\- good. I look forward to your distractions. Come whenever you’re ready. You know where I am.

She was pretty pleased with her own ability to flirt.

-Is that an invitation, Orihime? Are you going to tell Kazui about the kendo lessons tonight?

She bit her lip in an attempt not to grin. She had Riruka watching her.

\- Yes, it is. And yes, I am. Do you think he’ll be excited?

For the past week, Ulquiorra had been dealing with his feelings surrounding this woman. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to take it further than what it was… Even then, he didn’t know where they stood. Were they friends? Were they just flirting? He rubbed the back of his neck. Human interactions were difficult when people didn’t come out and say their intentions.

-Good, I’m pleased that it is. I know he’ll be excited.

For a former Espada, he was awfully nice. She shook her head. She liked him. She liked him a lot. She was sure he liked her, too; he had said as much. It didn’t mean anything special though, did it? No, they both had kids to look after and jobs. Their priorities were different than young people with nothing to tie them down. Still, she enjoyed her time with him and talking to him. She looked forward to it. She liked flirting with him. She particularly enjoyed the fantasy fodder he provided her… She licked her lips and reminded herself to not get carried away when she responded.

\- Well now I’m excited. When can you come over?

A small shake of his head and the now prominent smirk on his face were the only reactions he had to her text. He had forgotten that his daughter was in the room with him, so he didn’t notice that she was watching his face.

\- Eager are you? I’ll be there after school.

She raised her eyebrows and nodded. Eager? Check. She wasn’t ashamed, either. She was looking forward to some grown-up time after the party. She missed it. Before Ichigo lost his job and things were difficult, they often enjoyed a glass of wine or just the breeze on the balcony after they got Kazui settled down, just to talk and joke around with one another. She wasn’t sure if it was because she was older and wiser, or if it was because she wasn’t trying to manage a household with him, but she found that that kind of companionable, flirty banter was coming more easily to her when she talked to Ulquiorra even than it had after eight years of marriage to Ichigo. Ulquiorra was easy. Easy on the eyes, easy on the ears, easy on the brain, easy to slip into this kind of unrestrained sexual being… what the hell? She really felt like some kind of caricature of a middle-aged woman, drinking too much and talking about dicks all day. But she was only curious about one dick, if she was being honest. She giggled. She was so bad. She was glad no one could read her thoughts.

\- A bit. Hurry up. Jeez. LOL

“Who are you texting?” Eriko asked drawing her dad out of his adult banter.

Ulquiorra turned his head and stared at her. “Orihime. We’re going over there tonight.”

“Do you like her?”

“Yes, I wouldn’t spend my time around people I do not like, Eriko.” Ulquiorra sighed. “What is the point behind your questioning?”

The girl’s mouth turned down into a frown. “I’m curious. You don’t seem to like anyone,” she said. “Do you ever talk to Yuko?”

A heavy sigh left Ulquiorra and he gave his daughter a hard look. “No and I don’t ever plan on speaking to her again. We are done with this conversation. Please finish your task or I can give you other things to do.” Turning back to his phone, Ulquiorra sent one more text to the redhead.

-I’m bringing a bottle of wine. My offspring is being difficult.

***

It was two hours later that Ulquiorra was standing outside of the cafe with Eriko. He had a paper shopping bag in his hand. He had been listening to his daughter whine the entire walk over to the shop.

“I don’t even want to help plan this! Why can’t I just go?”

“Because you’re being a mouthy little shit,” Ulquiorra grumbled.

“I bet you were a difficult child.”

“What are you hoping to achieve by angering me, Eriko? Are you that stubborn? Do you enjoy being hardheaded? You realize I can cut off any and all contact with the Kurosakis--”

“You wouldn’t. If you did that you wouldn’t be able to talk to her and I saw you smile today.”

Well shit. The kid had him in checkmate. “Fine, go. Off to Isshin Kurosaki’s house with you. Go directly there and do not--”

Eriko gave him an apologetic smile. “I know, Dad. Don’t talk to strangers. Call if I get into trouble. I know.”

His green eyes watched the girl until he couldn’t see her anymore. Ulquiorra then turned to the door of the cafe and knocked. The sign in the window said closed.

Orihime stood on tiptoe to look through the glass portion of the wooden door. When she saw green eyes, she grinned, the apples of her cheeks dusting pink. She unlocked the door and opened it. “Come in! Come in, I’ve been waiting impatiently,” she chuckled.

Raising an eyebrow, Ulquiorra walked into the shop. “You’ve been waiting for what?” he asked.

She closed and locked the door behind him before answering, “For you, whatever’s in that bag, and for some adult conversation that doesn’t involve me looking at a woman three years older than me and rolling my eyes.” She looked at him and smirked for a moment before wiping her hands on her apron. Why was she suddenly nervous? “Anyway, how was your day?” she asked, walking toward the cafe part of the shop as she spoke, expecting him to follow.

Biting the corner of his lip, Ulquiorra followed as he talked, “It was tedious. My daughter insists on pushing buttons about things that I have no desire to discuss with her. On the other hand, it was delightful. What about your day?”

She looked up at him as she took two packages of balloons out of a shopping bag, and threw one to him. “It was great. Got to close up early and ran down my phone battery conspiring with you. Do you know what to do with those?” she asked, holding up her own bag of balloons before tearing it open.

“You call that conspiring?” Ulquiorra said after he set his own bags on the floor and opened the balloons. “You blow them up, right?”

“Yep.” It was one word to answer both questions. She took one balloon of her own and started to blow, her cheeks puffing out comically.

He watched her for a moment, seeing how it was done, before he attempted to blow up one of his own. It took him several tries before he inflated a balloon. “Now what?” Ulquiorra asked, holding the decoration between two fingers and huffing slightly.

“You tie off the end, just like a…”. Oh yeah, he might have never used a condom before. “Uh, like this,” she said, demonstrating for him.

“Like a what?” Ulquiorra tried to tie a knot in the balloon but it flew out of his hands. He glared at the thing flying around the room. When it finally ran out of air, he walked over and bent down to retrieve it. “This is difficult.”

“Here, I’ll show you,” she said, putting another one to her mouth and blowing it up on her way over to him. After it was full, she put her fingers in front of his face. “Too close? Can you see what I’m doing?” she teased, as if he needed bifocals or something.

“You never answered my question, like a what? And it’s entirely too close,” Ulquiorra replied and placed his fingers around her wrist, moving her hands so that he could look at her face.

She blushed, “Uh, like a condom,” she said, chewing on the word, and then held her hands back up, a bit further away. “You pinch off the end, twist it around two fingers, and then bring this side through.” Her face was bright red, and she felt a bit like she might throw up into her mouth a little. She couldn’t believe she would say that out loud.

The corner of his mouth pulled back slightly. It was pleasing to see her face and awkwardness. It reminded Ulquiorra all those years ago when he had first kidnapped her. She had an air of innocence around her then. It was nice to see it was still intact. “I see. I brought a bottle of white wine. I hope that’s alright,” Ulquiorra said, looking down at her.

“It’s quite alright. I have a corkscrew,” she said, grateful for the excuse to turn around. She went behind the counter of the cafe and rifled through a drawer. “You know, about Eriko, she’s getting to an age when she’s going to keep testing you. It’s part of puberty. Has she..?” She let the question hang, not sure if his daughter’s period was a topic Ulquiorra would want to discuss.

“I will not allow such behavior. She hasn’t yet, but I know there will be a day where she pushes me too far,” he stated, digging the bottle from the bag. “Has she what? You’re talking in half sentences.”

“Yeah, I tend to do that when I realize too late that I’m about to put my foot in my mouth,” she admitted, walking back around the counter and passing him the corkscrew before turning around again for some glasses. “You don’t have to tell me, but I was asking if she had gotten her period yet. Girls these days are getting them earlier and earlier.”

“We’re both adults. We can speak plainly.” Ulquiorra opened the bottle of wine and set it down on the nearest table when the subject went back to his daughter. His face turned slightly pink. “Um, I bought her book on the subject.” He cleared his throat. “That should be suitable for information.” 

Orihime turned around with the glasses and winced as she brought them to the table, sucking a breath in through her teeth. “Maybe, but it can be scary for a lot of girls. I didn’t have a mother _or_ a father at that age; I was lucky that my friend’s mother sat me down and explained what to expect. It was still alarming when the time came, though. I hope it’s easy for her.” She smiled at him then and added, “I really hope it’s easy on you! The moodiness is probably the worst part,” she chuckled then and slid a glass in his direction before grabbing another balloon and starting to blow.

Ulquiorra filled one wineglass and set it down before he filled the other. This was a delicate subject matter that Ulquiorra had no interest in. That’s why he bought the books. He knew Eriko would be going through that stage of life where things would be changing. Sato had told him what to expect. His face took on a vexed look as he thought about Orihime’s words. “Are you saying I should find Eriko a mother?”

She laughed abruptly. “No, it’s not like you can just hop down to the corner store and pick one up, as I’m sure you’re aware. I just worry… I mean, I don’t want her to go what I went through.” She huffed out a breath as if that were the end of that matter. “Shall we toast?” she said, eyeing the glasses.

He nodded and picked up one glass. “Eri is a smart girl. She asks questions if she needs to.”

Orihime smiled into his face at that. “I know that from the limited experience I’ve had with her,” she said cheerfully and raised her glass. “To smart daughters and newly-ten-year-old sons?” she proposed, holding her glass in place and waiting for him to accept.

“Also to rekindled… acquaintances?”

She narrowed her eyes and smirked, “Oh come on. To grown up friends getting grown up time, yeah?”

He scoffed softly. If this was his choice, he wouldn’t be decorating for a ten year old’s party. Ever since he had met Orihime again back in March, all he could think about was this woman and what she had done to him as an Espada. The experience had been both heavenly and hellish. Of course, Ulquiorra didn’t fault her for being repulsed by him then. He was a monster then. Not so much now. 

Since their conversation over the phone last Saturday all he could think about was this woman in a way that was inappropriate. She was the mother of one of his students. The last thing he needed was a scandal to fall on his head. He turned from her, taking a sip of wine. “I’d much rather have an intimate kind of grown up time,” he muttered.

She took a sip as well, her eyes on his profile. She took the glass away from her lips and asked, “What did you have in mind? This is good, by the way.”

“What do normal adults do with stolen time while their children are playing?”

“Depends on who we’re talking about. What did you do before you had Eri?”

He shook his head. This was not something he could talk about. Before Yuko used him, he went to work, he studied, and he would watch television with her. After she left for good, Ulquiorra worked and threw himself into teaching. “What did you do before you had Kazui?”

“Hmm, well I hung out with my friends as a group, mostly. I had him early in my relationship, so I don’t really remember what it was like before him.” She didn’t know why she was avoiding talking about Ichigo. “After him, if I had some time when he was occupied, I did stuff like this,” she said, clinking her glass to his before taking a longer sip.

There was a nagging in his brain. One that wouldn’t go away. Ulquiorra took a deep breath before he took another drink from the wine glass. He had this feeling that Orihime’s marriage to her late husband had been more of a friendship and duty thing than anything dealing with actual love. “How many people will be attending this party?” he asked, changing the subject. As much as he would love to tell her that he wanted to see what her bedroom looked like, it was still improper of him to think of her that way.

“Four. I don’t want anyone competing for attention, so I’m keeping it simple.”

“Eriko, Kazui?” Ulquiorra asked, guessing. He took a step towards Orihime. “You and me?”

“Exactly. I want your attention and I don’t want to share it. You’re still too fascinating to share,” she teased.

Again his mouth quirked up at the corner. “I’m boring, Orihime. I’m not fascinating.”

“Ha, says you.” She took another sip and then blew up another balloon. As she tied it off she said, “If you knew how boring it was around here before you and Eriko showed up, you’d be snoozing.”

Ulquiorra shook his head before he joined her in blowing up balloons. “How did you want me to distract you?” he asked when he was almost done with the bag she had given him. He was almost done with his first glass of wine too.

She had finished hers a couple minutes ago already, and was feeling a bit uncensored. Not crazy, just a bit relaxed. It was with that feeling of pleasant confidence that she answered, “Exactly how you are; keeping me company and feeding my ego by letting me imagine that I’m interesting and young and capable of holding your attention. You’re the first person since my husband died that has made me, um, forget.”

“You have held my attention since the moment I laid my eyes on you,” he said as he picked up a lock of her hair, twirling it between his fingers. When had he gotten this close to her? Was the wine affecting him this much? Ulquiorra’s mouth twitched, once again fighting the urge to break out in a smile. “I could make you forget more.”

He was slightly tipsy if he was saying things like that.

Orihime grinned, and the tip of her tongue peeked through her top and bottom rows of teeth as she ran it between them, before she bit the bottom left side of her lower lip. “Oh, I bet you could,” she said, her eyes falling on his mouth. She closed her lips and smirked, exhaling loudly through her nose. “Refill?”

The image of her bare shoulders and back flashed through his mind. Ulquiorra was glad for the chance to turn away from her to look for the wine bottle among the blown-up balloons. When he found it, he filled her glass up again along with his own. “You were always so mouthy to me,” he said staring at her face. “Defiant.”

“You bring it out in me,” she said, her eyes raising back to his. “I don’t know what it is about you, and I don’t know what you mean about me being that way in the past, but…” she made a soft, almost growly hum. “I think you’re the kind of person who can take it.”

“Do you think you could take it?” Ulquiorra took a long drink from his glass of wine then gave her a half-smirk.

Her eyes snapped back to his lips as they formed the expression and she smiled back. “Maybe we’ll see.” She was starting to feel a buzzing sensation in her brain that she knew she couldn’t chalk up completely to the wine. She sucked her bottom lip into her mouth for a moment, wetting it on her tongue, then exhaled, chest heaving slightly, and took another drink of her own wine. This was a dangerous game they were playing. She didn’t want to stop, but there were two ten-year-olds on their way over sooner than later. She couldn’t be caught bent over the back of the display case and, oh shit. Shit. She did not just make that little moan-ish sighing noise out loud. Oh yes she did. Oh god, did she need to squirm. She blinked quickly and took a step to the side, picking up a balloon. “We should probably hang these up.”

Was she thinking the same things he was thinking? Was she thinking about being under him? Was she thinking how their hands would feel entwining? Ulquiorra allowed a small shiver to go through him before he nodded. She was doing strange things to his mind and heart again. “We should hang them up,” he said, echoing her sentence. 

“Okay, there is some tape over by the register if you want to just put these around here,” she said, gesturing around the cafe. “I’m going to go grab the streamers, be right back.” She paused, thinking she might give him the impression she was abandoning him. “Don’t drink all the wine while I’m gone,” she added, raising her eyebrows and giving him a fake stern look, although she was unable to wipe the smile off her face. Then she turned, nearly skipping one step before heading into the enclosed kitchen part of the cafe and disappearing for a couple minutes. She needed to cool her heels. Talk about overeager. She grabbed a stack of menus and started fanning her face off. 

He could follow her. He _could_ follow her. She had given him a task, though. Ulquiorra stood there for a moment before drinking the entire glass of wine he had poured for himself. He could chase after her. He had done so once before but this time there was no psychotic Arrancar waiting for him with a Caja Negacion. He took a deep breath before taking a step towards the door where Orihime had disappeared. Immediately he faltered. What was he doing? What in the hell was he doing? This wasn’t proper behavior for a teacher. Orihime wasn’t his prey, nor was he a predator anymore. He was a normal, warm-blooded male who had not had the closeness or touch of another person in eleven years.

The kitchen had privacy. It would be a bad idea for him to go through that door as much as he wanted to do so. Instead, Ulquiorra grabbed the tape from where the woman had indicated and began to hang up the decorations, frustrated that he was letting his body dictate things instead of using logical reasoning. 

She didn’t want him. She was a human. Ulquiorra was a Hollow. 

Breathe, Hime. Breathe. She kept repeating this mantra in her mind as she rubbed her thighs together. Why was it so hot in here? She pulled at the collar of her shirt, then caught a glimpse of herself reflected in the stainless steel backsplash on the wall. Her face was flushed. She looked ravaged and she hadn’t even done anything yet. Her lips looked red as she blew out a long, steadying breath. Maybe she… That’s it. If she could make it through today, through Kazui’s party, she would just ask him out. It wouldn’t be hard. If he said no, he said no. No big deal, right? They could go have grown up time without worrying about the kids and if something happened then, well, goodie. If not, no harm done. Just continuing with the flirty friendship, right? Either way, today was not the day. She adjusted her bra; it was feeling a bit tight. She smoothed out her shirt and balled one fist, using the other one to grab the streamers and the “Happy Birthday” banner she bought, and marched back out. “Found them!” she said, before beelining it to her glass and draining it. “Okay, can I have some of that tape?”

He had finished hanging up the balloons and Ulquiorra felt warm. He stripped off the blazer he was wearing and placed it on the back of a chair. What was happening was a normal response. He was aroused. It was no big deal. When Orihime came through the door she looked determined. He had seen that same look on her face when she faced down Yammy. She must have reached some conclusion while in the kitchen. Ulquiorra walked over to stand beside her with the tape in his hand. “Would you like some more?”

“Please,” she found herself saying. What the hell? Was she a masochist? Apparently. She rolled her eyes at herself and grabbed a chair, pushing it to one corner of the wall and climbing up it. She was still too short. Oh well. She climbed up onto the counter, hoping that no health inspectors happened to walk past the storefront at that moment, and stood up on her tiptoes. She reached the top of the overhead cabinet and taped one edge of the streamer on top of it, then turned around to descend.

“Do you need help?” It was an innocent question he asked, but he was standing right behind her.

“Uh, yeah,” she said. “Do you mind helping me down?” May as well try the damsel angle and see how it goes, right? The worst thing he could do was refuse.

He reached up and put his hands on her waist, noting how his hands fit perfectly into the curve of it. Ulquiorra glanced up at her, his face not giving away anything at that moment. As he lifted her from the counter, he may have accidentally-but-really-on-purpose let her body slide against his. “I’ll get you another glass of wine,” he said in a low voice.

Oh crap. She was going to have sex with him for sure. Wow. She could pick ‘em, too. The way he spoke to her made the back of her neck tingle. The area between her legs started thrumming along with her heartbeat as she waited for him to return with her glass. That area really wanted her to invite him for an impromptu tour of the upstairs. Luckily her vagina didn’t have a voice.

Ulquiorra had a smirk on his face the entire time he had his back to her. As soon as he turned around and brought the glass to her it was gone. “Do you have any roommates?” he asked leaning against the counter.

“No,” she said, her voice sounding breathy in her ears. “Do you?” she asked, reaching for the glass.

“No,” he replied. “Maybe when you bring Kazui for his lessons I’ll give you a tour of my home. Eriko will be joining Kazui for these lessons so they would be preoccupied.”

Her mouth opened to respond but she found that she had no air. She had to fight to pull one deep enough to be able to speak. “Yeah, after cake and ice cream, I can show you around upstairs. Kazui’s getting a video game. It’s a two-player. I can show you the roof. There is a really nice view up there.” She had absolutely no shame. Shame, shame, shame on you, Orihime. 

“You’d be up there with me, correct? I bet it’s a lovely view.”

She choked out a breath and smiled before bringing her glass to her mouth, her eyes finding his over the rim of it as she drank deeply. She let them stay locked on his, thinking about all the dirty things she had dreamt about him and what she wanted him to do to her up there. As long as her mouth was busy inside the glass, she didn’t have to worry about it speaking those thoughts aloud. She nodded her answer to his question, though.

Ulquiorra let his teeth run over his bottom lip and he took a step closer to Orihime. The wine was affecting his body much more than he’d like to admit. He grabbed her wrist that held the wine glass and brought it away from her face. “We would have privacy up there? Do not nod, I require a verbal answer, Woman.”

“We could,” her voice sounded husky to her. 

He was leaning down. He was close to her and he was just inches away from claiming her mouth with his own when two ten year olds started banging on the door. Ulquiorra straightened his back and turned his head enough to see Eriko peeking through the window, her hands cupped around her eyes. “Fuck,” he growled.

“Right? We didn’t finish hanging up the banner.”


	11. Chapter 11

Ten year olds could eat a lot of cake. They could also inhale an unholy amount of ice cream, Ulquiorra thought as he surveyed the aftermath in the cafe. There was wrapping paper from his gift and Eriko’s. There were plates and napkins and several cups sitting on a couple of tables. After the nearly getting caught, Ulquiorra had finished hanging the banner while Orihime let the children in.

It had been a nice gathering. The four of them seemed to mesh rather well. It was a light and friendly atmosphere if you didn’t count the smoldering glances that Ulquiorra would use on the redheaded woman.

Orihime was pleased at how well everything turned out and how happy Kazui was. She never expected for Ulquiorra to get him anything, and was very impressed by the gesture. He was pleased with Eriko’s keychain and the video games he got from Orihime and Ulquiorra. The one from Ulquiorra was a rerelease of a vintage game, and Orihime had mentioned that perhaps a parents versus kids competition would be in order at a later date, to which both children cheered. She was saving the best for last, though. After everyone was done with their dessert, Orihime stood up. 

“Kazui, I know it’s past your actual birthday, but I’ve been promising you something for over a year and you have really shown me how grown-up you’re becoming. I’m very proud of your hard work and dedication. Cifer-sensei tells be that you’ve not been in the teacher’s room as often either, and because of all that, starting next week, you’ll be taking kendo lessons with Cifer-sensei instead of aikido.”

Kazui looked over at Ulquiorra and grinned first, then looked back at his mother and stood, walking over to her and giving her a hug around the waist. “Thanks, Mom,” was all he said, before giving her a squeeze.

Orihime hadn’t expected that, and tears dropped out of her eyes before she knew what was happening. She wiped them away quickly before returning the embrace and whispering, “You’re welcome, Monkey. Happy birthday.” She squinted her eyes shut and sniffed, then let go and wiped her eyes again, looking up toward the ceiling. She cleared her throat and said in a more confident voice. “Okay, kids, you have two choices. You can stay down here and help clean up, or….” she drew the word out and looked at them with a wicked gleam in her wet eyes, “you can leave it to the adults and you can go play video games. I know, I know, cleaning up sounds wayyyy more fun, but think it over and--” she didn’t even get to the end of it before Kazui grabbed the games and started running.   
  


“The stairs are this way, Eri!”

The girl looked at her father who gave a nod and she too disappeared wherever Kazui went. Ulquiorra looked at Orihime and then at the floor. “You’re a great mom.”

She smiled at him, her lips pressed together, her emotions a bit too close to the surface to be trusted at the moment. “You think so?”

Giving a nod, Ulquiorra stood and walked over to where the wine bottle sat. He picked it up and frowned. It was empty. Did they really drink all that wine? Putting it down on the table with a soft thunk, he turned around and looked at the woman. “I don’t mince words nor do I offer false compliments,” he replied. “Do you want help?”

“Thank you, and thank you,” she said softly. “Um, I could pass you a bag to gather all the wrapping paper and I’ll get started clearing the plates?” she offered. “Also, I’ve got something to make the work a bit more fun,” she said with a chuckle, grabbing a couple plates off the table and bringing them back to the sink.

“How long do you think the dynamic duo will be occupied?” Ulquiorra asked as he came up behind her. He placed his hands on her waist again.

Orihime shuddered. That feeling of breathlessness returned instantly. “Uh, I’d say until we break them up or they get hungry again, neither of which I suspect will happen soon,” she answered.

He hummed his acknowledgement of her answer. It was just his luck they were interrupted the first time. If the children hadn’t shown up, things probably would have happened. He took another step closer to Orihime. “What do you have that will make the work a bit more fun?” For some reason, he was becoming more aroused. Was it the thrill that they could be caught? Was it the wine? Was it the fact that Ulquiorra had wanted this woman from the moment she became his captive?

Orihime gasped quietly as she felt his breath against her hair. “I was going to offer you some umeshu, but, um, maybe wine is more our style. I have a bottle upstairs.”

“We should get this cleaned up before we partake in anymore wine,” Ulquiorra replied, shifting his body even closer. “After we are done, I fully expect that tour and maybe something to _drink.”_

“Yeah, sounds good. I’ll be thirsty then for sure,” she replied with her eyes closed. “There’s a bag on the-- you know what? You bring the dishes to the sink. I’ll pick up paper and put the food away and let’s make it snappy, shall we?” she said. Fuck looking overeager, she _was_ overeager and at this point she didn’t care much about hiding that fact. She turned around, expecting him to let go and start gathering dishes.

The smile that played over his mouth was a mere hint of the action. “Who are you to boss me around, Woman?” Ulquiorra asked, his normally flat eyes, taking on a confident appearance. “What if I disregard everything you just said and pulled you behind that door? What if I pressed you against the wall?”

Her body heaved with her rising breaths, and she swallowed before answering, “Well, then, I guess it would just be a little less comfortable than going upstairs, but it would lead to the same conclusion,” she breathed, looking up into his eyes and challenging him. She really didn’t care where he did it. She wanted it.

If there was a line or a boundary to this entire thing, Orihime Kurosaki just ran across it without a care in the world. At least, that was Ulquiorra’s take on it. It rendered him speechless for a moment, floundering for something to say. Finally with a deep breath, he gazed at her. “Good things come to those who wait. Be a good girl and let’s clean up.”

An auburn brow arched, and rosy lips curled up at the corners. “I’m no _girl_ , Ulquiorra,” she said in a silky tone before slinking away from him, grabbing the plastic bag off the counter and returning to the table where there was paper strewn everywhere. She grinned as she started stuffing it inside. She couldn’t believe this. This was crazier than her wildest dreams.

Ulquiorra stood there for half a second more before he narrowed his eyes at her retreating form. She was right. She wasn’t a girl. Orihime was all woman. She had never been just a girl to him. She had been a woman the first time he had seen her in that park. A rush of air left him as he walked over to the table with the dishes, gathering them up and putting them in the sink. When he was finished he leaned against the counter and watched her. “You are a woman, not a girl.”

She turned to look at him. “As far as I can tell, you’re all man. Hollow or not. I’m done with this,” she said in a suggestive tone, stashing the bag behind the counter. “You ready to go upstairs?”

“Are you ready to go upstairs?” he asked, coming closer to her. “You seem ready. Eager?”

Tch, he was calling her out. “Look who’s talking,” she said, eyes dropping to the front of his pants and back up to his face with a smirk.

Ulquiorra looked down at his pants with a raised eyebrow. He longed to pin her against something solid and take her right there but he had restraint. “This is only semi-aroused,” he said. “I’m holding back.”

“Come on, then, I’ll give you the tour,” she said, walking towards the stairs and shutting off lights as she went.

He had options. He could stay in the cafe and be frustrated. Ulquiorra could follow her, and the moment they were in the stairwell, he could kiss her. They could go through this farce of a tour and end up in her bedroom; he could also wait to see this rooftop and make a move there. He pursed his mouth as he thought, brows drawn down.

She had reached the bottom of the stairs, and he was still on the other side of the shop. “You coming, or did you want to rob the place?” she chuckled. “There’s only loose change in the register; help yourself. Otherwise, I’m waiting for you.”

Scoffing, Ulquiorra quickly strode over to where Orihime stood. Within seconds he had her pinned to the wall, his hands on her waist again, body pressed against hers. “I don’t know; will I be coming?”

She breathed ragged breaths through parted lips for half a minute before raising heavily-lidded eyes to his and answering, “God, I hope so.”

“Go, Woman. Lead me,” Ulquiorra said taking a step back from her but keeping a hand on her wrist.

Orihime shivered. Heat was pooling between her legs already, and the only promise between them was a look around her place. She took a step up the stairs and paused, glancing over her shoulder at him. She smiled, tugging gently on his hand. “I hope you’ll like it,” she replied, then turned back to look up the stairs and ascended.

His attention was focused solely on Orihime as they went up the stairs. Ulquiorra watched as her body moved and how she carried herself. This was happening again. He could feel his emotions threatening to overwhelm him. “I think I will like it,” he stated.

When they got to the landing at the top of the stairs, Orihime took a deep breath. There wasn’t a lot of space there, and the scent of his soap overwhelmed her. “Just a moment,” she murmured, placing her palm on his arm and maneuvering him so that she could have enough room to open the door; it had a tendency to stick and she had had to pull it hard.

Once it was opened, she took another steadying breath and walked inside, slipping out of her shoes and calling out to the kids, “How’s the game?”

Kazui ignored her, focused on defeating his friend.

“It’s good!” Eriko replied as her fingers flew over the buttons of the controller.

Ulquiorra leaned down to whisper in Orihime’s ear after making sure the kids were absorbed in the game. “Wine. Roof or bedroom?”

She turned her face toward him and whispered, “Grab the open bottle in the fridge. I’ll get the glasses and we’ll go upstairs.” She didn’t go straight for the cupboard though, stopping at a linen closet and grabbing a blanket first. She didn’t want any chill in the air ruining the mood.

Ulquiorra followed her to the kitchen and opened the refrigerator. He spied the bottle immediately and grabbed it. “Got it,” he said in a rather flat tone. He did not want to give away how excited he was or alert his child to his activities.

She opened the door again as quietly as she could after slipping back into her shoes, and waited for Ulquiorra to join her again on the landing, then closed the door. “This way,” she whispered, jogging up the stairs to the roof. She opened the door and her hair flew out past her face her as the pressure and breeze from the outside equalized with the warmer air inside. “Here we are, my grown-up oasis. Make yourself at home,” she said, gesturing to the set of artificial wicker furniture with dark-colored cushions surrounding a low table. There were two armchairs and a loveseat.

Swallowing, Ulquiorra walked towards the loveseat and placed the bottle he held on the table. Why was he suddenly nervous now that he was alone with Orihime? “Come here,” he said, while using a finger to beckon to her.

She smiled, wasting no time in her approach, and set the glasses down on the table beside the bottle before standing back up and looking at him. She watched his face, looking for some indication of how he was feeling and what he was thinking with anticipation. “So, what do you think?” she asked after a moment.

“Do you really need validation that you’re a gorgeous woman?” Ulquiorra grabbed her by the waist again and made sure that there was no room between their bodies.

The breath left her body at the contact and her hands slid their way up his chest to his shoulders. “It’s always nice to hear,” she murmured, feeling the way her breasts molded to his body with every breath she took. The fingertips of one hand found the collar of his shirt and traced the edge. “Don’t you like to hear how much you’re appreciated from time to time?” she finally managed to ask.

Once again his teeth ran over his bottom lip. Her touch was like fire and electricity all at once. His green eyes wandered over her face as his thumb stroked the curve of her waist through her shirt. Ulquiorra dipped his head down as he placed his mouth close to her ear. “I only want to hear praise from you,” he murmured.

She whimpered a soft vocalization as his breath bathed her ear and the side of her neck, and she raised on her toes, turning her nose toward the angle of his jaw, replying, “Then I’ll tell you that you are the most common object of my imagination these days, in particular these broad shoulders and your stunning eyes. But right now, I’m a bit more distracted by your hands.” She wasn’t sure if she was doing this seduction thing right, but she was willing to take the risk. The reward smelled too sweet to let this opportunity pass her by, and she turned her head just a bit more and let the briefest contact of her lips occur on the side of his face before asking, “Thirsty?”

“Parched,” he replied. He turned his head just a fraction and let his mouth brush against hers. His breath came as pants now. Could she hear his heart and the way it was fluttering in his chest? Was she feeling the same seductive pull? This was much more than an attraction for him. He was trying to wall off his emotions from his actions. She didn’t know the true him, so he couldn’t allow himself to feel this way for her. “You?”

She felt him hesitate, and it shook her confidence a bit, but she would answer his question honestly. “So thirsty,” she murmured before following his lips with her own, ghosting across their warm surface and inhaling his rapid breaths.

Wrapping an arm around Orihime, Ulquiorra led her to the loveseat and sat down with her perched on his lap. He had to take a deep breath to calm down. Logic had to be used… Or at least common sense. Wrapping his long slender fingers around the back of her neck, he pulled her to him again, his mouth grazing hers. A soft groan left his lips.

She let her lips press into his after he made that noise, the plush surface melting into him, and her arms found their way around the back of his shoulders as she let her weight settle on him. She pulled back after a moment and found his eyes again, her cheeks dark in the ambient light of the city across the river and her eyes shining. “So, how does it feel to kiss me?”

“Like heaven,” he said, kissing her again. Ulquiorra leaned back for a second and looked at Orihime. His own gaze was suggestive. “Like hell. I feel like I’m burning every time you touch me.”

A flicker of worry crossed her face. “Do you want me to stop?” she whispered.

“Do you want to stop, Woman?” Ulquiorra asked before nuzzling the side of her neck with his nose and mouth, nipping at her ear lobe. “I don’t want you to. I want more.”

“I want a lot more,” she admitted in a breathy whine. “But I’ll settle for this,” she said as her index finger guided him by the chin back to her mouth, and she covered his lips with hers, her tongue dragging along the seam gently, dipping just inside the surface where they parted.

If she wanted a lot more, he would gladly give it to her. “Tell me what kind of things you want? Do you want to be under me? Do you want to be on your knees in front of me? Would you like me to worship your body with my tongue?”

“Those are good ideas,” she breathed between pecks to his lips, “All I know is that I want to get lost in you and I don't really care about finding the way back out.”

He nipped at her lower lip before moving his hands to her thighs. How was this woman without a mate? She was soft and perfect. She fit so well with him. “Orihime,” he breathed. Her name was like a prayer as it fell from his lips. “Tell me what you want right now, at this moment,” he almost purred into her ear with an eagerness he had never experienced before.

Her fingernails raked a gentle path up the back of his neck and into his scalp as she caressed the side of his face with her soft cheek. Her breath washed over his ear in shallow pants. Her heart pounded in time with pumping rhythm she felt in her lips and between her legs. Each of his finger points of contact on her thighs buzzed with life. Her lips caught his earlobe and she mouthed it while she pondered his question. At this very moment? “I want your tongue in my mouth,” she whispered.

“You are going to be the undoing of me again,” he said as one hand left her thigh and reached up to cup her cheek. Ulquiorra sought her lips with his, nibbling on them before kissing her fully.

Orihime moaned into his mouth as their tongues met, sliding against one another, tasting each other. His flavor was clean and organic; warm and alive. She could see herself becoming addicted to the taste of him. Just like every other aspect of him, it was easy. Natural. Like his body and soul had been built to her specifications.

Oh. This felt like she was consuming him, the heat in his body radiating out. He was working himself into a frenzy just touching Orihime. “Woman, please,” he murmured as the hand on her face dropped to her chest.

“What do you want at this moment?” she asked against his lips, her body responding to his touch with an arc of her spine and a shiver.

“You. I’ve waited so long for you,” he replied, fingers trailing over those round breasts. Had they been this full when she was captive? “I’ve already stated my wishes.”

She whimpered at his words, her hips shifting over his on their own accord. She kissed him again deeply before pulling back and resting her brow against his forehead as she tried to catch her breath. Her ears were ringing and her body was on fire. She recognized the lust flowing through her veins and she knew she was at its mercy. She opened her eyes and stared into his as her hand snaked between their bodies to his groin.

A sharp inhale of breath was his only response to this new touch. His head dropped back to lay against the wicker. What was she doing to him? This felt vastly different than the one time with Yuko. There was no flying. There was no fuzzy headed feeling. Ulquiorra sighed, content with how she was touching him.

Her hand stroked his length over the fabric of his trousers as she gently rocked her hips on his lap. Her lips kissed a path up and down the side of his throat. This continued until she became dissatisfied with how passive he had become, and with her free hand, she took one of his and pushed it under the hem of her shirt, pressing it to her abdomen right under her breasts and hissing at its relatively cool temperature.

His head lifted and Ulquiorra looked at her with wide, wild eyes. “Do you want me?” he asked, fingers worming under the fabric of the bra and touching her skin. “You’re so hot, Woman.”

“I want you, Ulquiorra. The question is, how much how soon?” she whispered into his ear. “What do you want to do to me?”

“Anything; everything.” He drew a ragged breath as her hips and hand passed over the erection in his pants. He was probably creating a mess in his boxer briefs. Removing his hand from under her shirt, Ulquiorra turned and laid the woman down so her back was against the seat of the loveseat. He maneuvered himself to kneel between her legs.

She raised her knees, allowing the sides of her calves to embrace his body as he knelt above her. He wasn’t overly demonstrative; it was in the flare of his nostrils and the slight pinch of his brow; the exaggerated way his chest rose and fell. Those were the indications of his passion. It emboldened her, and her small hands found their way to her shirt buttons, undoing them one by one until the blouse fell open.

“You are perfect,” Ulquiorra said as he sat up. He took the hem of his shirt in his hands and pulled it up his torso and over his head, before carefully placing the piece of clothing on the low table. “You are absolutely perfect for me, Orihime.”

She smiled at him affectionately and put her hand on his chest, and then she noticed it. “Number four?” She sat up on one elbow and brought her fingertips to the black circle at the base of his throat, smiling to find it solid. She asked without judgment, “Does the gigai reflect your true form?”

“Mostly. I’m missing several things,” he answered before he leaned back down to kiss her, one palm covering one of her breasts. Ulquiorra knew this was a dangerous subject, so he might as well distract her while he could. “You’re beautiful.”

“So are you, if you don’t mind the term,” she blushed and smiled at him bashfully. She meant what she said.

Finally she got a smirk out of him. His mouth pulled into a smile without his permission and Ulquiorra felt his face become warm. He closed his eyes for a moment before opening them again and staring at her for a few seconds. “I don’t mind the term.” 

Her heart stalled. What was this feeling? She wasn’t sure but she knew that she needed him. Urgently. She grasped at the back of his neck and whimpered as his mouth crashed into hers. Her legs wrapped around him, her ankles hooking at the small of his back as she raised her hips to him. She continued this frenzied making out for several minutes before breaking it and panting, staring at his face, afraid to utter the words that wanted to spill from her lips. “Ulquiorra, I…” she plead in an anguished voice, _need you now_ was implied.

Ulquiorra’s mouth went dry again. Funny how it seemed to happen a lot around her. He didn’t waste any time, hands pushing himself up. He first undid the fastenings of Orihime’s pants before he unbuttoned and unzipped his own. His breath was shaky as he took her hand and laid it on his lower abdomen. “Show me how much you want it.” 

With her eyes on his face, she sat up, breaking the eye contact to kiss the center of his chest before leaning against the back of the wicker loveseat with one shoulder to support her. She wanted to be able to see what she was going to do. Her delicate fingers hooked into the waistband of his pants and pulled them down until they cleared his ass, then she bit her lip as her left hand pulled at the waistband of his underwear while the right dove inside, those soft fingers wrapping around his length as she sighed. She had forgotten this feeling. Silk over hot stone. She exhaled and closed her eyes for a moment before pulling his boxers down to reveal his erection. “Wow,” was her only breathy comment.

He had been the only person to touch his body in eleven years, so it was somewhat of a shock when this tiny woman did so. It made him gasp and his breath stutter. It took him several moments before he found his voice but his tongue felt thick in his mouth. “That’s a good thing, yes?” Ulquiorra commented. 

“Very,” she answered in a shaky voice, letting her hands glide over his length tentatively.

Ulquiorra did not say anything else. He grabbed the sides of her pants and dragged them down, taking underwear and all with them. When they cleared her feet, he placed them on the table that held his shirt, the wine bottle and glasses. He also pushed up her bra, tipping his head down to pepper her chest with kisses. “Absolutely gorgeous. You should hear that every day.”

“I’d love to hear you say it everyday,” she mewled, too aroused to worry about whether this confession would excite or frighten him. She reached for his body, running her hands from his hips to his ribs and back. “Your body is art,” she murmured before spreading her legs apart and lying back completely.

Would she like to hear him say it everyday? Would she like him to claim her body; using his lips, teeth and fingers marking every inch of her? Would she like how jealous he could get? How possessive? He had felt the same things while she was a captive in Hueco Mundo. It would be easy to fall into that same pattern. Ulquiorra watched her hands as they touched him, his breathing speeding up as she fell back onto the surface of the loveseat. 

This was going to happen. 

He shifted closer to her, grabbing Orihime’s thighs and pulling her to him the rest of the way. The heat coming from her body washed over him. The compulsion to be inside her was overwhelming. Green eyes gazed at Orihime as he reached between their bodies and lined himself up to her. Ulquiorra hesitated, trying to see if there was a hint of doubt in the redhead’s features. “If you don’t want this Orihime, I need to know now,” he said, leaning down to kiss the redhead, his tongue pushing into her mouth.

“I want it,” she hissed as the kiss was broken.   
  


He remained leaning over her. Ulquiorra’s heart felt like it was going to beat out of his chest. He was trembling as he began to push inside of her. He was not going to give her a chance to deny him this. He didn’t pause. He didn’t wait. He didn’t stop until his body touched Orihime’s. Heat was pulsing down his cock; his senses were overloading. He had not felt this in such a long time. “Damn,” he breathed, trying to shift even closer to her. Ulquiorra knew he could not go any deeper inside of her body.

Orihime held her breath as he pressed into her. It was a tight fit. Sure, she was no virgin, but it had been a long time and she had only ever been with one man. Part of her was saying goodbye to him again, and it caused a small part of her heart to pang. It caused her to tense up slightly, not that it was a bad thing. Once he had settled inside of her, she opened her eyes and exhaled, her mouth open in wanton bliss. “Ul- Ulquiorra,” she whispered. She found it difficult to breathe. She had given birth; she knew how it felt to be stretched, but this was a different kind of sensation. She let her hands roam freely over his chest to his neck, pulling his face closer to her own. When their noses were side by side, she whispered, “Make love to me, Ulquiorra.”

_Make love to me_. He knew what love was. Ulquiorra knew there were different kinds of love. There was the love he had for his child and there was the love he had for this woman under him. His body relaxed hearing those words come from her lips. Ulquiorra nodded and began to move his hips, pulling out and pushing into her body, keeping the movement slow for the moment. He swallowed, letting the longing and yearning for this human wash over him. He tried to keep his expression as passive as possible, but letting those words she uttered sear into his mind. “Anything, Woman,” he replied.

Ulquiorra had told Orihime that kissing her was heaven and hell combined. She disagreed. This was it. This slow, sensual concert of their bodies coming together as one soothed and electrified her nerves all at once. She wanted to laugh and cry and hold onto him. She didn’t, of course, too busy concentrating on the sensation and the fire building within her. Where had this man been all her life?

Not that she had always been free to enjoy him, but that was beside the point.

She would make damn sure that this experience would be the first of many, if she had any control over the situation. Feeling his cock move inside of her, sliding and pushing over her sensitive parts, making her legs tense and her core tighten. He was long enough to make these slow thrusts count, each ridge and vein of his length causing her body to react as it passed through. Her breathing was rough and wet. “Ulquiorra…” she said his name softly, with a small smile. “Kiss me, Ulquiorra.”

Every sound she made; every glance at him; every breath, it saturated him with pleasure. He let out a gentle moan before he did as she asked, first letting their mouths touch softly before he became insistent, like a man who had been thirsty for weeks and had an endless supply of clean, cold water in front of him. “You feel so good, Woman. You’re mine,” he said, babbling as he started to increase the pace. It was even better than before.

“You feel amazing. Like you were made for me,” she moaned, raising her hips to meet his insistently, pressing him deeper into her. “My god, Ulquiorra, this is…” she didn’t actually know what it was. There were no words to describe this bliss. None that came to mind, anyway. Her mind was not exactly switched on to language mode, at the moment. This was the most delicious chocolate. The smoothest, silkiest mousse. The most decadent ganache. It was sinful and heavenly and she wanted to lose herself in it. Then it happened. They both moved at the perfect angle at the right time, and he slipped into the deepest part of her. A strangled cry escaped her throat as her body started to constrict around him. The chase was on.

“Oh, Orihime,” he breathed before Ulquiorra buried his face into her neck. His mouth attached to the side and he suckled the skin there, toying with the idea of biting her to mark her. No, he wouldn’t do that to her now. It was enough his mouth was bruising the skin as he fucked her, sliding in and out of her body at a pace that was driving him insane. It wouldn’t be long now. He could feel the tension at the base of his spine starting to form and spread its way to his limbs.

Orihime pressed her mouth into his shoulder to muffle her cries as her body started to come undone. It came on slowly, growing in intensity until it blinded her and cause her to squeal, clutching at his back madly. After the first crushing wave of spasms passed, he was still going, and another wave crashed over her, this time deeper and more powerful, but less stinging and sharp than the first. “Ulquiorra!” she sobbed into his body. “Ulquiorra, oh,” she kept calling his name as she came and came and came. It felt like it might never stop.

The ripping sensation that traveled through his body made his chest heave as he felt his cock twitch and warmth jet up the length. He pushed into her several times before his body became too sensitive to any movement. He collapsed against Orihime, breathing hard. Everytime her body jerked or spasmed it sent another agonizing jolt of ecstasy through him. “Are you alright?” he asked after several minutes passed.

She was panting and out of breath, trying to find her emotional and physical bearings. She spied the blanket tossed over the back of the piece of furniture they were on and pulled it down, covering his back and her body with it, then let her fingers cup his face. “I feel ruined and remade,” she said with a shaky giggle and kissed him again, then let her thumb brush his cheekbone tenderly as she let his head lie on the side of her neck. Usually, this was the time when sweet declarations of love were made, in her experience at least. She felt that urge now, but she didn’t know what to say. Finally, she echoed his question. “Are you alright?”

Ulquiorra could count the times he had laughed as a human on one hand. He chuckled and shook his head, hiding his face in her neck again. “I am fine, Woman. I was afraid I harmed--” That’s all it took for Ishida’s warning to come back to him. There was an icy feeling of dread in his mind. It felt like they were being watched or something… He pushed himself up and looked down at her, not wanting to ruin the moment. “Did I harm you?”

She shook her head lazily before responding, “No, but I’m going to need some time to readjust before I move much. You have an impressive body, Ulquiorra,” she said, turning red and chuckling for several moments. 

“So do you, Orihime,” he said before he used a hand to cup her face. He cocked his head for a moment trying to listen. “Eri and Kazui are fighting. If you’d like, I can go check on them while you gather your wits about you. Maybe… It’s getting late… Eriko and I could stay here.”

Orihime bit her lip. She was conflicted on several fronts. One, she didn’t want him to get up yet. She was enjoying their post-coital snuggle time. Two, she wasn’t so sure a sleepover would be a good idea. It might confuse her son and his daughter. Still… Maybe there was a way to deal with this delicately and allow for it.

But she didn’t want to let him go, yet. “Compromise? You stay here for one more minute, we get redressed, pour ourselves a glass of wine and look at the city lights for another minute, before we both go down there and face reality? We’ll see about a sleepover.”

He nodded. Of course. He was thinking irrationally. It wouldn’t do to parade their… Did they have a relationship? She had said for him to make love to her. He didn’t think that Orihime would use him. “I am in agreement to this.”


	12. Chapter 12

Orihime went downstairs first and opened the door, glass of wine in hand. “Kids! Kids! Calm down! We leave you alone for what, forty-five minutes and you’re already trying to kill each other? Kazui, I want you to go brush your teeth. Eri, your father wants to talk to you in just a minute.”

Orihime turned to Ulquiorra and cupped her hand over his ear. “What do you think? Too tired? Too cranky? Are we asking for trouble by extending this or do you think she’ll calm down?” She got down on her heels and tilted her ear toward him, waiting for a response.

Ulquiorra frowned at the woman before he turned his gaze towards his daughter. He could tell that she was worn out. “She’s tired--”

“I’m not tired! I’m fed up with Kazui throwing a fit--”

“Eriko!” Ulquiorra scolded. “You need to lower your voice. You are tired. You had a long day. You had a bunch of sugar.”

The girl pouted and crossed her arms over her chest. “I don’t--”

“You are being irrational about this. Think, please.” Ulquiorra sighed and mimicked his daughter’s stance. His gaze shifted to the redhead before diverting back to the girl.

“Okay, I am tired,” Eriko replied after a moment.

“Would you like to go home?”

Eriko shook her head which made her pigtails whip back and forth. Ulquiorra crouched down to look at his offspring. “I’m sure that Orihime and Kazui will invite us--”

Orihime cleared her throat and nudged Ulquiorra with her hip. When he looked at her, she raised her eyebrows and tilted her head to the side, then tugged at his sleeve to have him stand for her.

He straightened his body and looked at the redhead. “What?” he said quietly.

“Compromise?” She whispered with a tiny grin.

“Compromise?” Ulquiorra took Orihime by the elbow and led her away from Eriko. “What do you mean by that?”

“Well, I was thinking maybe Eriko and you can take my room, and I can sleep out here on the sofa. I don’t want… Oh.” Her eyes had fallen on the microwave clock. “You’re stuck here anyway. You missed the last train.”

His eyes turned towards the clock and he could have cursed. “Orihime...” Ulquiorra said but trailed off. There was no way he was going to be able to sleep with her in close proximity. “What about… earlier?” His voice was low so that only the woman could hear him.

She smiled at him. “We can talk about it after they’re asleep,” she said in a matching volume.

“Eriko and I can sleep out here,” he stated. There was no reason that Orihime needed to give up her room for them. Besides, Eriko could sleep on the couch, Ulquiorra would be on the floor until his child was surely asleep and then he could just slip into her room. “You never showed me around.”

She would argue with him about it later. “Okay well, here is the living room and kitchen and dining room,” she said with a smile, then crossed the room and opened a door. “And this is the bathroom,” she shut the door right before Kazui turned around, mouth full of toothpaste, and a muffled “Hey!” could be heard through the door. Then she walked to a set of two doors on the adjacent wall. The one farther from the front door was the first she opened. “Here is Kazui’s room. It’s a mess,” she commented, eyeing a stack of manga on the floor and a huddle of dirty socks in a corner with a wrinkled nose. She waited for Ulquiorra to come and have a look if he wanted. She wanted him nearby when she opened the next door anyway.

He wasn’t surprised by the state of Kazui’s room. It made him glad to see that the boy was a normal kid. What he wasn’t happy with was the fact that Orihime didn’t let on that her room was right next to her son’s. It afforded her no privacy whatsoever. He gave the redhead a look of understanding and sighed.

She shut the door and then opened the next one, flipping on a switch. Orihime’s room faced the street and had a large bay window covered in soft white curtains. She had a large bed with a white comforter and soft, grayish purple pillows. There was a desk and a dresser and a bookcase, and they all faded into the background. The only thing that stood out in the room, color-wise, were the multitude of potted plants she had arranged around and under the window, and a small photograph on her dresser of a young family of three, all with varying shades of red hair.

This room he walked into and turned around, taking in everything. Of course she had taken him up to the rooftop to fuck. He looked at the photo and sighed. He was still a Hollow and she was a human. Her husband had been a Shinigami. “I get it,” he said quietly.

“What do you get?” She asked, her voice one of quiet concern. She hadn’t expected this reaction.

“Your room is right next to Kazui’s. There’s probably no privacy. Also--” he gestured at the photograph. “It’s fine. Eriko and I will sleep in the living room.”

She frowned and looked over her shoulder before backing him up against the wall and raising up on her toes to kiss him. “You’re right about the privacy,” she said as she lowered herself down again. “But you’re wrong about that. I bought this place after he died. Don’t get me wrong, I loved my husband. I loved our family. But I love my life now, and he’s gone, and he’s never coming back. I’ve accepted it. It doesn’t mean that I burn the memories, though, it wouldn’t be fair to Kazui. I hope you understand that,” she said, taking a step back to give him the freedom to leave if that was what he wanted.

Humans were complex characters. They could say one thing and mean another; Ulquiorra knew this. She had used him and he had fallen for it, taking those flowery words to heart. Giving another nod, Ulquiorra replied with, “I understand completely. Boundaries must be constructed. I did not mean to step on toes.”

Orihime’s brows furrowed and a hurt expression marred her face. “What are you talking about? You haven’t stepped on any toes. I want you here.” An acidic taste crept up her throat. What was going on? Had she done something wrong? She just wanted to show him her place. She felt like she might cry, and turned around to face the window, trying to get a grip.

“Orihime,” Ulquiorra said. He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “I’m talking about the fact that it would be improper of us to sleep together tonight. It would confuse our children--Kazui mostly because I think Eriko has some inkling that I--” He almost said love you. That would have been a mistake. “That I am attracted to you. She knows if I dress a certain way or leave my hair down that I’m trying to impress someone. She’s not a dumb kid. She observes a lot more than you think.”

“Oh, I know it,” she said, turning her face, but not her body, toward him. “That’s why I suggested the roof.” She gave him a contrite smile then and turned to him fully, saying, “I just… I think we might have a good thing going. I don’t want the kids to get caught up in it until we know where we want to end up, though. It wouldn't be fair to them, and I’m afraid Kazui is going to struggle with it a bit. Eriko has confided in me that she never had a mother, but Kazui remembers his father. He might have a hard time seeing someone else,” she paused, realizing she may be jumping the gun, “take his place, if that’s something you become interested in doing at some point… I want to ease him into it, if possible.” Orihime was embarrassed. She had kind of laid her ideas bare, in not so many words, but she didn’t have the luxury of playing games. She had a son to protect.

He took a deep breath and looked away from the woman. He took another deep breath. That’s why she suggested the roof? Why did all the women he had given a chance to use him? It wasn’t like he was a god of sex or something. He had restraint and patience which probably made him last longer than most men. He gave a one-shouldered shrug. “Maybe, but Eriko wasn’t given that option. She wants to be a part of Kazui’s life and yours. If this were...If this were to not work...” He didn’t want to be the bad guy and say it. He knew their friendship would suffer. “I’m sorry for assuming things.”

“What are— Ulquiorra, I’m going to speak plainly because I feel like we’re misunderstanding one another. What did you assume? I’m not following you.”

“We can’t discuss this until they’re asleep. Or we should go up to the roof again,” Ulquiorra replied. “To talk.”

She sighed. At least he was willing to discuss it. She really needed to stop anticipating that he would react like her late husband did near the end of their marriage; always assuming the worst and running away when faced with a challenging opinion. She closed her eyes and shook her head for a moment. “You’re right,” she said to Ulquiorra with a nod. “I think we should let Eriko fall asleep in here, though. You can move her out into the living room if that’s what you want to do later, but I still think both of you would be more comfortable in here on the bed. I can sleep with Kazui if you’re worried about my comfort, but really the sofa is nice. Either way, I am a small person, so…” she trailed off with a chuckle. “But seriously, I’ll find some pajamas she can borrow that won’t fall off of her and she can go brush her teeth and get changed after Kazui’s out of the bathroom. Sound like a plan?”

He gave a nod. “I’m going to go out there to talk to her,” Ulquiorra said. “If you still wish to discuss things, we can.”

“I do,” she said, giving him an affectionate smile before turning to her dresser. She opened her pajama drawer as Ulquiorra left the room, finding a nightshirt with a high collar that would probably go well past Eriko’s knees, but would not fall off of her. While she had the drawer open, she put the family photo into it. It wouldn’t do to confuse Eriko. As it was, she was sure that Kazui introduced his father to her while she and Ulquiorra were either in the shop cleaning up or on the roof; there was a mini shrine to him to the right of the television. Just a small wooden box that opened up to a picture of Ichigo with an offering plate on one side, his battle pass on the other, and an incense dish in the middle. It wasn’t garish or distracting, but it was respectful toward the place that he had held in their lives. 

After she closed the drawer, Orihime leaned on the doorframe, waiting for Ulquiorra to finish speaking with Eriko.

“... But are you guys--”

“Orihime and I are just friends,” Ulquiorra replied to his daughter.

Eriko scoffed. “She has one of those things on her neck.”

“You watch too many dramas, young lady.”

“Are you ever going to tell her that you like her?”

Ulquiorra sighed. “I don’t think that’s in the cards, Eriko; not right now. Now, since we missed the train, we’re going to stay here--”

The girl’s voice brightened considerably. “You mean we’re gonna have a sleepover with Kazui? My first sleepover with my best friend!” She was jumping around and clapping her hands.

Ulquiorra shook his head. “Orihime’s going to give you something to wear. I want you to go into the bathroom after Kazui is done; brush your teeth and wash your face.”

The girl was silent as she walked over to the bathroom door to wait. Ulquiorra went back to Orihime’s room. “She’s thrilled,” he said, looking at the little girl.

Orihime gave Eriko a wistful smile. “I see that.” She pushed off her spot on the doorframe and approached the girl. “Eriko? Here you go, sweetie. I’ll make sure Kazui hasn’t fallen asleep in there or something.” She knocked on the door to the bathroom and opened it to find Kazui talking to his reflection in the mirror about something that appeared very serious. “Kazui Kurosaki! We have company, you can’t just monopolize the bathroom. Now are you done brushing your teeth and doing what else needs to be done?”

Kazui seemed to turn twelve shades of red as he turned and slinked out of the bathroom. “Yes, Mom.”

“Good. Get out!” she teased. “Say goodnight to Eriko and Cifer-sensei. They have to stay here because they missed the last train. Go get a glass of water after that and go to bed. I’m sending you downstairs first thing in the morning to get some of Riruka’s donuts.”

The boy perked up at that and nodded to his mother. “Okay. Goodnight, Eri. See you in the morning! Goodnight, Cifer-sensei!” he said with an easy grin as he grabbed himself a glass of water and sauntered to his room. “Oh, Mom, did you burn yourself with the curling iron again?”

Orihime looked at her son with wide eyes and nodded. “Yes, I did, Kazui. This morning. Did you just notice now?” she lied, a hand coming up to cover the hickey on her neck. 

“Guess I was preoccupied,” he said, proud of himself for knowing how to properly use that word.

“I guess. Goodnight, Monkey,” Orihime said, holding her arms open and waiting for a hug.

Kazui looked at her and wrinkled his nose, his blush coming back again. “Mom!” he whined.

Orihime sighed. “Fine. Just go to bed,” she said, smiling after him until his door shut, then looked away with a dejected expression. Eriko was in the bathroom and Ulquiorra was still standing beside her door as she crossed the space from where she stood between the bathroom and bedrooms and flopped down onto the sofa. “I need more wine,” she stated after a minute. She was crying.

“Did we polish off that bottle? I can go get it if you wish,” Ulquiorra said as he walked over to where she sat.

“There should be another two and a half glasses worth in there at least, if you don’t mind I would appreciate it,” she said. It had been a big day. She needed a minute to pick up the pieces of her heart that her son had inadvertently dashed to bits.

Ulquiorra sighed. “Orihime, would you like to go up to the roof and wait for me? I’m sure you need a moment alone. You weren’t expecting to have overnight guests.”

Orihime nodded but looked up at him and smiled. “It’s not that, I don’t mind you two being here; it’s really no trouble. It’s actually really nice, it’s just…” she sighed hard and a few more tears fell out. “God, I’m sorry. He’s just growing up so fast… I can’t keep up with it.” She sucked in a stuttered breath. “I’m sorry. More than you bargained for,” she said. “I’ll see you up there soon?”

He reached down with a hand and pulled Orihime up against his body. She hadn’t used him. She was just worn down without anyone to help her along. Ulquiorra tilted her head up and looked into the woman’s dark eyes before he kissed her. “Go, I’ll be up there in five minutes,” he whispered in her ear. The man stepped away from her just seconds before Eriko opened the door and walked out of the bathroom. She had folded her dirty clothes and looked ready for bed.

“Where am I sleeping?”

“Orihime is going to let you fall asleep in her bed and then when she wants to go to bed, I’ll move you out to the couch,” Ulquiorra answered.

“That’s more work than is needed,” Eriko said and made a beeline for the couch. “I need a blanket and a pillow.”

“Do you want me to tuck you in?” Ulquiorra asked, becoming amused at their nighttime banter.

“Ugh, no! I’m eleven, not five!”

This made Ulquiorra turn and look at Orihime with a raised brow as if telling her all kids did what her son had done. “Go ahead and enjoy some quiet. I’ll get her to sleep.”

Orihime gave him a smile and a nod. “Good night, Eri-chan. Sweet dreams, sleep tight, don’t let the bed bugs bite,” she said as she opened the door to go up to the roof.

“Orihime?” Eriko called out before the woman could leave.

The redhead paused in the genkan and turned to face the girl. “What is it, Sweetie?”

Eriko turned her green eyes to her dad and then to the woman. With careful steps, she walked over to Orihime and gave her a brief hug before stepping away from her and bowing. “Thank you,” the girl said.

Oh. Well, that wouldn’t stand. Nope. Orihime stepped out of her shoes and walked back into the living room and gave Eriko a big bear hug, squeezing and then relaxing her hold before straightening her spine and looking down at the girl still in her arms. “Don’t thank me. Thank your dad. Now go to bed, Sweetheart. I’ll see you in the morning.” Orihime gave her a gentle pat on the head and let go, giving Ulquiorra a _yeah, yeah, you’re right_ kind of smile before stepping outside.

Exactly five minutes later, Ulquiorra was on that rooftop. He stood against the door and looked at the woman. “She’s asleep,” he said. “I checked on Kazui who is passed out also.”

She looked across the roof at him from her spot on the loveseat, huddled under the blanket, glass of wine in hand, and smiled at him. “Thank you. Come here, please,” she said in a gentle voice.

With a nod, Ulquiorra walked over to where she sat. Not even an hour ago he had been on this piece of furniture, inside of her. As he sat down, the former hollow grabbed his wineglass and took a sip. The images were too vivid at the moment. “Are you okay… at least in an emotional sense now?”

“Yeah, I’ve calmed down some,” she said with a trace of embarrassment, letting her head rest against his shoulder. “You and I need to talk, don’t we?”

He took a bigger mouthful of wine as he nodded. “We should. But I can understand if you are reluctant. I’d first like to say that I did not come here today with designs to do what we did, however much I may have enjoyed it.”

She chuckled voicelessly and said, “Really? Even after all the suggestive text messages?”

“They were text messages. A majority of humans like to say one thing and mean something else. I’ve seen it happen all the time. I take people’s words at face value. You say something, that is how I interpret it.”

“Okay,” she said, not wanting to turn it into an argument that he had been hinting at wanting to get into her pants all day. In the end, they had done it, and that was the important thing. “Well, regardless of your designs, I’ll admit to you that I had fantasized about this happening for awhile now, but I never believed it would actually happen. I can tell you the exact moment when it switched for me from a ridiculous notion to a strong possibility.”

“Okay, let me rephrase that. I didn’t think it would happen _today_ ,” Ulquiorra explained. He looked at the woman for a moment. “When did the idea seem like it could become a reality?”

“The first time you put your hands on me, when you were helping me down from the counter in the cafe. I knew at that moment that it was an inevitability. The chemistry is strong. It has proven itself undeniable.”

Ulquiorra sat there and thought about her words. He knew he had been teasing her; trying to entice Orihime. “We...Yes, we had the same spark in the past. Did you mean it?” To avoid her gaze or any other questions she might have had, Ulquiorra drained his wineglass slowly.

Orihime waited. That was a loaded question and she wanted to make sure she knew what he was asking her. She took a sip off her glass to bide her time. When his glass was empty, she took her aim and fired. “Did I mean what, Ulquiorra?”

“Did you mean it when you said you wanted me to make love to you?”

“Yes,” she said, looking straight at him with a serious expression and nodding. “Did I frighten you?”

His head moved back and forth. He put the wineglass down. “No,” Ulquiorra replied.

Orihime chuckled. “Deja vu.”

All of a sudden, Ulquiorra was hit right in the face with a long forgotten memory. Standing in Aizen’s throne room; threatening to rip her chest and her skull open. Asking her how it felt to know she was going to die there, alone. Asking her if she was frightened of him.

_No, not at all._

Ulquiorra closed his eyes against the onslaught of wrongdoings he’d committed. “Are you suggesting that we put on a front of being friends for our kids and then sneak around?”

“I know it’s usually the kids that sneak around behind the parents’ backs, but in this case, yes. For now. In the short term. I’m just worried that all the progress Kazui has made since you became his teacher is going to be lost and he’ll backpedal into the defiant brat he had started to morph into at the beginning of this year. I might be wrong; I might be overprotective, but I’d rather be cautious,” she sighed and nuzzled his arm a bit, hoping he would understand.

“What about Eriko? You haven’t seen overprotective. What is the plan if this--” he calmly gestured between them, “--doesn’t work? My daughter will be heartbroken that she lost her best friend and the one woman who is like a mother to her already.” Dammit. He hadn’t meant to say that.

Orihime tilted her face up to look at his and grinned, a soft, “Aw,” escaping her lips. “Well, as far as I’m concerned, it’s the children’s best interests that are the most important. They are our number one priority. Even if _this_ doesn’t work, I don’t intend to stop Kazui from being friends with Eriko. Nor do I plan on treating her any differently than I do now. It wouldn’t be her fault if we can’t make each other happy.”

He had to refrain from saying that he wouldn’t want Eriko around Kazui if things didn’t work out. If whatever this was didn’t work out, then Ulquiorra didn’t want to see Orihime. “We should have discussed things before enjoying each other’s bodies.”

Orihime sighed heavily, but wormed her arms around his and gave a gentle squeeze. “Maybe. I don’t know how this is supposed to go, either. It’s different, now, I mean, compared to when we were younger,” she paused and kissed his shoulder. “I don’t regret it, though. I, uh…” she blushed, her face feeling hot as she decided to try a bold gesture. She released her hold on his arm and swung a leg over his lap so she could look into his eyes. “I’d like to do that again soon, if you have no objections,” she said before kissing his lips softly.

Ulquiorra’s eyes went wide after the kiss broke. Her words were confusing him; her actions pulling him in deeper. Was it possible she remembered him from that time years ago and had decided to play dumb? What if she had done that to make this happen? He smoothed some hair away from her face. He had always spoken plainly. He might as well lay it all out there, like he usually did. “I’d like to do that again with you too; in a bed,” Ulquiorra stated.

Orihime smiled. She knew she should be more aroused than giddy, but she was feeling both emotions and giddiness was winning at the moment. She wrapped her arms around his neck, putting her lips close to the spot where his neck met his shoulder, and held him. She just wanted closeness right now. “Ulquiorra?” she murmured after a few moments. “I don’t want to scare you off, but you should probably know that I really, really like you.”

A long slow breath left him as he brought his hands up to touch her waist. “Why would that scare me off? You have to know that I like you too.”

She made an uncertain humming noise, and then explained, “I don’t know. I overhear a lot of conversations in the cafe. Riruka is single and is constantly meeting guys online to try to start a relationship. It sounds like most women don’t have a lot of luck at this age finding a man who wants to, um, deal with a relationship. Most just want to have some fun and walk away. So… I mean, you’re right, we should have talked about that kind of thing. Anyway,” she took a deep breath. “I don’t see the point in hiding my feelings from you. You’d find out either way.”

“You think I’m a man, not a hollow?”

She pulled back a bit, regarding him thoughtfully. “I think you’re both,” she said, after a moment. “But, apart from you telling me, I haven’t experienced anything yet that would distinguish you as a hollow. My brother was a hollow. My husband was a hollow, and a shinigami. I think… I don’t know if I have an opinion on that.”

Giving a nod, Ulquiorra looked at the woman on his lap, thumbs once again stroking along the curve of her waist. This wasn’t supposed to happen. He wasn’t supposed to be alive. He wasn’t supposed to reproduce. He wasn’t supposed to fall in love with this woman. A small groan left his lips as he kissed her again. “I wish I could sleep with you tonight,” Ulquiorra said against her mouth.

She sighed against his lips. “Me too. Maybe…” Her heart was getting carried away with her. “Maybe we can bring Eriko to my room and ‘accidentally’ fall asleep together on the sofa,” she joked, although part of her was hoping that he would take her up on it.

“We can’t,” he replied. “Maybe in a few weeks we can have another sleepover. Just us.”

She smiled, slightly embarrassed at herself. 

“I want to though, badly.”

Her smile widened, and she embraced him again, groaning, “Ugh, me too,” then giggled. She had a thought before all this happened that she was only interested in having fun with Ulquiorra. She swallowed hard, realizing that if she ever actually thought that, she was an idiot. She wanted closeness. She wanted intimacy. 

He gave her a hint of a smile. “What is it Woman? Are you that eager to be under me again?”

A burst of air followed by a few chuckles answered him. “Well, yeah, but that’s not what I was thinking about.”

Waiting for a moment, Ulquiorra furrowed his brow. What could she be thinking about that would make her laugh? Was Orihime thinking about how much of a pathetic excuse of a creature he was? Was she thinking about how this was a joke? “What is it?”

She shook her head against his neck. “Um, I was just thinking, I’d be happy to just stay here in your arms like this all night, like the emo turkey that I am. I laughed because your suggestion kind of made me realize how, um, _soft_ I am thinking. I can’t help it. You bring it out in me.”

“I could take you down to your bed right now. We’d probably wake Kazui up with the noise, though,” Ulquiorra said, kissing her cheek. He brought his hands to her face and tilted her head up. “Let’s drink the rest of this wine and sit here, enjoying the night, okay?”

She gave him an unguarded smile and nodded. She kissed the tip of his nose before she turned to grab the wine glasses and topped them off, handing one to him before holding hers up and saying, “I hate that I can’t remember you, but you said it before, and now I’ll toast to rekindled… Us.”


	13. Chapter 13

Ulquiorra sent Orihime a text every day, but on Thursday, he sent her two texts messages.

_-Good morning. I keep thinking about you._

_-I’m taking Kazui home with me for his first kendo lesson. I can bring him home or you can pick him up. Please inform me of your wishes_.

When he saw Kazui, the hollow-turned-human leaned down to tell the boy this news. “Your first kendo lesson is today,” he said in a volume only Kazui could hear.

The boy’s face took on a look of jubilation. “Really!? For real?! My mom said it wouldn’t be until Saturday!”

It was going to be Saturday, but Ulquiorra wanted to see the boy’s mother before then. “You’ll have another lesson on that day. We will be going over absolute basics and what I expect of you,” Ulquiorra replied.

“Yes sir!” Kazui barked, bowing respectfully before turning around to tell his best friend the news.

***

Orihime got his messages when she took a short break, and smiled until she read the second one. This was a surprise. She was discovering all kinds of things that she should have spoken with Ulquiorra about before _they_ happened. For example, she had gotten her period the day after their sleepover, and it was only then that it occurred to her that they had really just thrown caution to the wind. That was stupid. She was relieved that the conversation they were going to have to have would be about condoms and not about picking out baby furniture.

The other thing she hadn’t discussed with him was payment for these kendo lessons. She was sure it would be fine; similar to what she paid for the aikido lessons, but a bit more expensive because it was only Kazui, and, according to Ulquiorra, Eriko. But she had only been anticipating once a week lessons. With a groan, she typed back a response.

\- _I’ve been thinking about you, too. I can come to your place, if you’d like. I’ll take my delivery van. What time? I’m working until seven but Thursdays aren’t typically busy so I can leave the place to Riruka if you’d like me earlier. Can I bring anything?_

She decided to send this as two messages.

\- _Also, we never talked about the terms of the kendo lessons. Let me know your rate so I can come prepared, LOL._

He couldn’t answer her until he had a free moment. Ulquiorra read the message while he sat in the teacher’s room. He could hear several conversations going on around him but he tuned them out, biting his lip as he texted her back.

- _Any time that you see fit is fine and no, I’ll feed Kazui if you’d like._

_-Rate? The lessons are a gift to Kazui, Orihime. I would not charge you anything for them anyway. Kazui’s friendship with Eriko is payment enough also._

Orihime read his messages as soon as they came in, this time, and whimpered and swooned at his response.

“What is your deal, Hime?” her business partner quipped in the critical voice she always used.

“Huh? Me? Oh, um, it’s nothing really, Riruka. I just got some good news,” she replied, then bit her lip and tapped out several replies.

- _ <3_

_\- You are the best. Thank you._

_\- I hope you have a lot of food because Kazui eats like a horse._

_\- I miss you._

“Nothing, huh?” Riruka said quietly, face next to Orihime’s ear.

Orihime shrieked, grasping at her chest. “Oh my god, Riruka! Don’t sneak up on me like that, I could have a heart attack!”

The pink-haired woman rolled her eyes. “So, who is the best? Who do you miss?”

Orihime grimaced. “Um… Well, I’m kind of seeing someone,” she said, choosing her words carefully.

“Since when?! Does Ichigo know?”

Orihime looked at her like there was something broken in her head. “I should hope not; he’s dead, Riruka, or have you forgotten?”

The other woman snorted and put her hands on her hips, leaning forward in an admonishing posture. “Whatever. If I had been married to the hero of the universe, I would have tried to keep it going after he died. You know he’s in Soul Society.”

Orihime rolled her eyes. “Riruka, it’s really none of your business, but if you must know, he had a Konso performed. He wouldn’t remember me anyway.”

Riruka blew a raspberry. “Whatever, Hime. What, do you just move on just like that? He’s only been dead what, three months?”

Once again, Orihime looked at the woman like she was insane. “It’s been almost two years, Riruka.”

“Oh.”

Orihime could see the antagonism melt away from her business partner, and she took a deep breath. “Really, Riruka. It’s not like I meant for this to happen. It just did. And I really like him, so please try to understand.”

“Well, we’ll see how it goes,” was the other woman’s only response before she turned to go take an order.

***

Eriko was a bit nervous. She had never had a friend over before. Either her dad didn’t want anyone over or no one liked her enough to be friends with the girl. Had she cleaned things enough? She sighed heavily as she walked with the two males from the train station to the house that sat on the hill.

“When we arrive, you two will need to change into uniforms I have for you. Eriko will be taking you through exercises to warm up, Kazui,” Ulquiorra said, sporadically explaining things to the boy.

“Yes sir!” was the enthusiastic response, before the boy addressed the girl, “So, you get to be the boss of me? Ha ha!”

She scoffed. “No, I’m going to show you what to do, then I’m gonna beat you at everything, like I usually do.”

“Ha ha! Yeah, right. You’ve never seen me with a sword. I’ve been a shi-- I’ve been holding one since I could walk!” he bragged, awkwardly covering up his slip.

Eriko rolled her eyes. The boy was always bragging about stuff like that. “Well, my dad taught me since I could walk. We’ll see who is the better--”

“Eriko!”

“I apologize.”

The girl knew not to brag about her skills. It showed weakness and the need to compensate. She just wanted to beat Kazui at something without him whining about how she cheated.

Kazui noticed how her demeanor changed at her father’s correction, and snapped into line. He remembered his own father using that voice. After a few more steps, he leaned over a bit to Eri and whispered, “Sorry. Your dad is almost as much of a hardass as mine was.”

“It’s okay,” she whispered back. “Having my dad teach you will probably be worse than your dad. He’s a great teacher… but you have to be very disciplined.”

Kazui smiled at her, narrowing his eyes. Sharing secrets like this made him feel naughty. “I don’t know, at least your dad is a good teacher. My dad never explained anything. He would just yell until… No, he would just yell and then fight me until my mom broke it up.” He snickered quietly. “My dad was super strong and fast, though.”

“My dad won’t go easy on you,” Eriko said as they walked. She frowned, hoping her dad wouldn’t hurt Kazui.

The boy ground a fist into the palm of his other hand and smiled. “Good.” Then he heard a buzzing sound. “Is that your phone, Eri?

The girl shook her head. “I don’t have it on me. Dad, your phone is ringing.”

The man had been so lost in thought about Orihime that he hadn’t noticed the device buzzing in his bag. He fished it out and answered the call. “Hello, Orihime. How can I help you?”

“That’s a loaded question,” she purred. “I’m calling to let you know that I talked to Riruka, and I’ll be leaving here in about half an hour. I have to run an errand and then I can come over. Can you send me the address?”

Mental images of that night came back to play through his mind. He shook his head slightly as he realized he was in the company of children. “We will discuss that later, and yes I can. Do you or Kazui have any dietary restrictions?”

“Nope. We’re easy,” she said with a wide grin. She was going to tell him they were easy but they were both bottomless pits, but she figured it was just as well for him to learn that on his own.

“Good. I shall see you very soon then?”

“Yes,” she responded, breathy and eager.

Ulquiorra hung up and then eyed the two children. One was staring at him. He tilted his head and looked at his daughter. She merely smiled at him. 

It didn’t take very long to reach the house. The building was surrounded by trees with plenty of space for Eriko to run around and play. The only bad thing about it was the fact that it sat on a hill. Eriko sighed and motioned for Kazui to follow her while her dad played on his phone. “I wished we lived closer to Karakura Town sometimes,” she said to Kazui.

The boy followed her and looked at her father for a moment before looking at Eri again. “How come? This place looks nice.”

“Because taking the train is a bother,” Eriko replied when they got to the top of the hill she huffed. “It’s nice because Grandmother bought it after old Reo died. I don’t remember my grandfather much.”

“I only had one grandparent. My mom was an orphan, and my dad’s mom died when he was younger than us,” Kazui supplied casually. 

She had seen the huge picture of his grandmother hanging on the wall of the elder Kurosaki’s home. The old man referred to the thing several times while Eriko had visited. She looked at Kazui. “We’re a lot alike concerning some things.”

Kazui grinned at her. “Oh yeah? How so?” He was so dense sometimes. He looked at Eriko like she had a juicy secret to tell him.

“You live under a rock,” she told him. “We both only have one parent. We both only have—well, in my case, I only remember one, one grandparent. We’re both different looking.”

The boy straightened his spine. “Oh. Yeah, I forget. Now that I’m friends with you, Eri, it feels like all those other kids don’t matter. It’s just you and me and we don’t need them, right?” He said with a serious, scowling pout, reaching a hand out to shake hers.

This boy… Sometimes he made her have butterflies in her stomach and other times she wanted to pound him into the ground. Right now he was giving her butterflies. Kazui was right. They didn’t need anyone else. Instead of grabbing his hand, she grabbed his arm.

Ulquiorra was watching the two as they went inside the house. He frowned and then sent a text message to Kazui’s mother.

_-Your son is charming my daughter._ :|

***

Orihime was at a pharmacy in Naruki City when she got Ulquiorra’s text.

_\- How so? Is it totally cute?_

She sent the message and then looked at the display in front of her, tapping her bottom lip with the phone. She had bought the items that hung in rows in front of her before, but they were always what Ichigo had picked out for himself, and after a while they stopped using them altogether. Now she wasn’t sure if she remembered what kind was the best… and because she always just went for a specific one, she never had to look at any others. There were a lot of options. It was kind of overwhelming. What kind of condom does a former Espada with an impressive dick wear?

_-He’s obtuse as hell but he’s feeding her flowery lines._

Orihime chuckled as she just picked out a couple random boxes in the magnum size and went as quickly as possible to a self-checkout station. After the items were in a bag, she paid and tapped out a response.

_\- You know he doesn’t mean anything by it, right?_

Ulquiorra sighed as he spotted Eriko and Kazui’s shoes left haphazardly in the genkan. He toed off his shoes before walking down the hallway. They were arguing about something silly.

_\- I know. She watches too many dramas though. She has these ideas about love and all that. Where are you, by the way? Are you on your way here?_

Poor Eriko, Orihime thought. Her hopes were going to be dashed when she found out her dad and Kazui’s mom were a couple. 

Heh heh heh. Maybe that was premature. Still, it was a strong possibility.

_\- I just finished my errand, I’m at the drugstore near Naruki Central High School. I should be there in ten minutes?_

_\- Can’t wait._

Ulquiorra dropped his bag onto the bench under the stairs and then walked over to the kitchen island, setting his phone down. “Are you two done fighting? Eriko, go upstairs. In the hall closet there are hakama, get a pair that are in your size. After you change into your uniform, come back down. Oh, get Kazui a t-shirt also.”

The girl nodded and ran upstairs. Ulquiorra could hear doors opening and closing. He turned to the boy and gave him a hard stare. “Do not hurt Eriko, do you understand?”

The boy’s eyes looked into Ulquiorra’s with a bit of fear. “I would never!” he insisted. “Honest! I’ll go easy on her!”

Of course the boy didn’t understand, but Ulquiorra nodded. It would be just his luck that his daughter would get attached to Ulquiorra’s biggest enemy’s child. Another minute passed before Eriko came downstairs in a pair of blue hakama and a pink t-shirt. She had another pair in her hands but the t-shirt was white. She gave them to Kazui. “Kazui go change and then you two will go outside to stretch.”

Kazui bowed and turned around with the clothing from Eriko. “Um, where do I go?” The girl gestured toward a door and he entered it, coming out two minutes later dressed nearly identically to her.

Orihime almost drove past the house, it was set back from the road a bit and surrounded by a dark stone wall at the side of the road with tall trees inside the perimeter. The only indication that there was a home back there was the small plate on the gatepost with the name Cifer written in katakana and the roman alphabet. She turned into the driveway and parked behind Ulquiorra’s car. She put her shopping bag in her purse and zipped it up before walking up to the front door and knocking.

This house was impressive. Ulquiorra must have had very good spending habits to afford a place like this. While teachers made a decent salary, this house looked like it was out of the reach of a single dad.

The green-eyed man had sent the children out into the yard to stretch. He was shuffling through papers he needed to look at later. He sighed and scrunched his face up, hearing someone knock on the front door. It was more than likely Orihime. No one else ever came out here. He moved through the hallway and opened the door slightly to see red hair, before he opened it the rest of the way. “Woman,” Ulquiorra murmured, pulling her into the house and against his body.

She sighed into his embrace, grateful that the closeness they had achieved the weekend before had not faded away during their few days of separation. She hugged him with her unburdened arm and sniffed his scent. He smelled so good to her. “It’s good to see you too,” she murmured back.

He was glad the kids were outside. It left him free to do as he pleased with her. Ulquiorra cupped her face and kissed her, backing Orihime against the wall beside the door. “Are you sick? Is that why you were at the drugstore?”

Orihime blushed. “Er, no, I just didn’t want to be unprepared like last time. We were pretty irresponsible.”

“Pardon?”

“Um, well, I’m not on any kind of birth control…” she said, then bit her lip as she looked up at him. “We were safe, I’ve had, uh, confirmation of that, but, looking forward, I thought it would be more practical…”

“Oh! Offspring. No worries,” Ulquiorra said, taking a step back from the woman. “Urahara took care of that for me. This Gigai doesn’t have the things that can produce children.”

Orihime’s eyes widened in disbelief and traveled down to his crotch and back up to his face. “I beg to differ…”

His brow furrowed and Ulquiorra had to stare at her for a moment. “I had him remove anything that could possibly make me impregnate another woman back in March when I got a new Gigai.”

Understanding washed over her and her facial features and posture relaxed. “Oh!” she giggled at herself. “Oh, well, that makes it easier. I don’t even like these things,” she said, tugging at the corner of the bag. Then it occurred to her that she should ask, just to be sure, “But, um, I have to ask… Since you got the new Gigai, have you, um, slept with anyone besides me?”

Thick black brows rose in surprise. Ulquiorra shook his head. His face turned pink. “Um, you are the second sexual encounter I had since becoming human. I slept with Yuko one time.”

Unbelievable. How was it that he had the skill to satisfy her the way he had with such limited experience? “Wow, you are… talented. Anyway…” she said, embarrassed that she had said that out loud.

“What things are you referring to?” Ulquiorra asked. “And I am not talented. I have patience.”

She pulled the bag out of her purse and gave it to him. “These things. Maybe you can give them to your male friends? I’d be uncomfortable giving them to Ishida-kun.”

Ulquiorra took the bag and looked inside. Condoms. He had heard about these things when he was in college. Everyone said how much of a hassle they were to use. At the mention of Ishida, Ulquiorra’s head snapped up. “If you were to give these to Ishida, he’d probably take that as an invitation, and I have already--”

He stopped before he could put his foot in his mouth. 

“You’ve already what?” she asked, more curious to hear what he was going to say than eager to refute his statement.

“Claimed you. You are mine.”

“Oh,” she said, raising her brows. She was not sure if she was ready to have that discussion, but… No, she couldn’t let it go. “Ulquiorra, you don’t need to worry about me, uh, looking for anybody else to, uh, _distract_ me. Also, that would be my fear as well about Ishida-kun, which is why I don’t want to give these to him. But, “claimed” me? That seems kind of… extreme. Is that how you feel? Do you feel like you own me?”

He turned his head away from Orihime as he felt his face become hotter. He should have never said anything. Yuko had pushed him away many times for behavior like this. “No, I do not own you. But I feel like I have claimed you in regards to possibly mating with you in the future.”

Orihime pursed her lips together and gave this some thought. He was an Espada. He clearly no longer acted like one; he was a fully functioning member of society, with a happy, healthy child. The more she thought about it, the more familiar his speech patterns sounded to her. She began to space out again, then shook her head. Nope, focus, Orihime. What he meant was that he wanted to be in an exclusive sexual relationship with her. She did not object to this idea. “I think I understand what you’re trying to say. I don’t want you to sleep with anyone else, either.”

“Then we are in agreement,” Ulquiorra stated. “In fact since the children are occupied we could--”

“DAD! Kaz and I are doneeeeee!”

“Fuck,” Ulquiorra said as his child finished screaming.

Orihime smirked and crossed her arms over her chest. “Someone very handsome said to me recently that good things come to those who wait, or something along those lines.”

Ulquiorra grumbled and kissed the redhead before he walked back into the other room.

***

Orihime was impressed. Ulquiorra had these kids following his directions like they were an extension of himself. Her son, the very same one who would run off on his own to go hang out with Hiyori and would never listen to a word she said a year ago, was perfectly obedient and seemingly loving it.

Then there was the man himself. Hearing him give smooth commands; observing is keen kinesthetic sense, and his ability to translate that sense into instructions the children could follow, made her appreciation for him grow significantly.

He stood in the grass between the children and barked orders really. Eriko had been through this all before. Kazui seemed to have some knowledge of what to do. Maybe he wouldn’t need to waste so much time on the basics like he usually did. “Back straight, Kurosaki! Focus Eriko.”

The first thing he taught any of his kendo students was how to stay perfectly still while holding a wooden stick. They would bitch and complain, but if they carried the activity through their schooling, most of them won matches.

Ulquiorra narrowed his eyes as his daughter huffed. “Too much for you? Are you going to quit?”

“No, sir.”

It sounded like she was going to cry. Eriko was getting close to that age where puberty would pick her up and shake her around several times before setting her down to be disoriented. Ulquiorra would have to speak to her later.

Orihime caught the girl’s eye for a moment and smiled at her with an encouraging nod. She didn’t let her gaze linger too long; she remembered being that age and feeling unsure of herself and easily judged. She didn’t want to put more pressure on her. Her eyes flickered to her son. She was so proud of him. He was growing to be so much like his father; so much like herself. The best parts of them, not the parts that had been damaged by deadbeat parents or feeling alone in his ability to see spirits. Orihime was proud of herself as a parent at that moment.

Her eyes turned back to Ulquiorra. He was a good influence. He and his daughter had done more for them in the short time that they had known each other than anyone else since Ichigo’s death, except maybe Ishida. Orihime sighed. Ishida had done a lot to help their transition into being a fatherless household, especially in an administrative capacity. It eased Orihime’s burden. Just because he hadn’t been able to free her or her son from their oppressive grief didn’t mean his contributions were less worthy.

Still, it didn’t compare. The Kazui holding a bokken, still as a stone, looking forward with a determined expression, wouldn’t exist today if not for the other two people they shared this space with. Orihime sighed, and her heart thumped in gratitude and fondness. If she were more cynical, it might terrify her how quickly she was letting them in.

When neither child moved for five minutes, Ulquiorra said they could take a break. He walked over to where Orihime sat. “Well?” he asked her quietly.

“Wow,” she said, eyebrows flashing at him. “Impressive. You have quite the command of your pupils.”

Ulquiorra gave her a tiny smile and turned his head towards Eriko and Kazui. Both of them were drinking juice boxes. “One knows what to expect. The other will come to learn the excellence I strive for,” he said. “What made you leave the cafe early today?”

One side of her mouth raised in a half-smile as she leaned forward slightly, eyes on Ulquiorra’s. “I’m looking at my motivation right now,” she said quietly before sitting back. “Also I wanted to see the first lesson.”

His brow rose and his lips gave a visible twitch. If he was understanding her correctly... “You want to spend time with me outside of… bedroom activities?”

She gave him a puzzled smile for a moment before replying, “Of course I do, how else are we to get to know each other? Besides, my son looks up to you. I need to make sure you are worthy.” She chuckled after that. It was true, though. She was still Mama Bear.

“Wouldn’t you find that out before we had sex?”

Her face fell, and she looked at him blankly for a moment before drawing her brows up and looking off into the distance. “Maybe, if you weren’t so efficient at seduction,” she complained. She let him sweat for a second before her eyes slid back in his direction, lips pursed. “We talked about this on Friday, remember? Neither of us planned that. And just because I approve of you and me doesn’t mean I approve of you and him and martial arts. I take his education seriously.” Her face had returned to its usual pleasantness at this point, unable to continue the charade of offense. “I had a good hunch that you’d be a proficient swordsman, based on your previous, um, _profession_ , but I didn’t know if your skills would translate into good instruction, fairness, and kindness to my son, especially in light of who his father was. I’m pleased that my concerns seem to be without merit.”

“His father killed me,” Ulquiorra stated in a calm voice. “That’s behind us now. I am a teacher and I have to show fairness to my students.”

“Wha—“ Orihime’s world went dark. She could hear Ishida behind her, begging her to stop. She could hear herself, screaming. She saw flashes of red and green. Her ears rang and then she heard nothing. She saw a white hand reach out to her. She saw Tsukishima’s face. No, Tsukishima has dark eyes, not green. His hair was brownish black, not ink-black. She was back in her room in Las Noches. She was back in the dome. No, she had never been on the dome. Las Noches had a dome? Yes, she had seen it as she, Ichigo, Ishida and Tsukishima escaped Hueco Mundo… But she had never stood on it with them. Conflicting memories assaulted her for minutes more. 

Outwardly, Orihime made no indication that anything was amiss, except that tears silently streamed down her cheeks and her eyes looked around at phantoms of things that were not on the Cifer property. That and her mouth hung open somewhat, her shallow breaths making her lips go dry.

“Orihime?” Ulquiorra asked as he crouched down beside her. “Orihime? Are you okay? Woman? Orihime?!”

Her ears heard his voice and her head turned toward the sound, her eyes following blindly. Her hand reached out toward his chest just like it had on that dome. “I’m not afraid,” she whimpered, her face crumpling. “I’m not afraid!” this time more insistent, followed up with a sob as she snapped back to reality. She lurched forward as her son dropped his kendo stick and rushed to her side.

“Mom? Mom!” Kazui’s voice was scared, but it was clear that he had experienced something like this before. “Can you hear me, Mom?”

Orihime nodded, and one of her hands left Ulquiorra’s shoulder and reached out to her boy. “I’m okay, Monkey. Mama just had another episode. I’m sorry I scared you.”

Kazui took her hand and held it in both of his. “Do you need something? Water? A hug?”

Orihime looked at him and smiled shakily. “Hug first, then water,” she said in a tight voice, pulling him to her and putting an arm around his waist. Kazui held her head to his chest and pressed his cheek to the top of her head. “It’s okay Mom, it’s okay.”

The boy looked at his teacher after a moment. “It’s okay,” he said. “Dr. Ishida says it’s just some kind of PTSD. Mom used to be a, um, soldier. She will be alright,” he said as much to reassure himself as the other two present.

Ulquiorra nodded. “I know. Eriko! Please go get Orihime some water,” he called out. He watched his daughter quickly do as he asked. He then turned to Orihime. “Would you like to go inside and lie down?”

“No, no, I’m fine. How long was I out this time?” she said, turning her eyes to his and squeezing the hand on his forearm that she had not yet released.

“Not long. Are you sure? You can lay on the couch. The children can study or do homework while I cook,” Ulquiorra said. He was trying to calm himself down. He had caused this mental breakdown. “Kazui, can you go help Eriko for a moment? I’d like to talk to your Mom.”

The boy looked at his teacher, his face a mix if worry and vulnerability. He trusted Cifer-sensei, but this was his mom and he wanted to make sure she was okay. Kazui stared into Ulquiorra’s eyes for a moment and then nodded. “I’ll see you in a minute, Mom.”

“Thanks, baby boy. I love you.”

“Me too,” the boy said, before jogging toward the house.

As soon as the boy was out of sight, Ulquiorra turned back to Orihime, cupping her face. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking,” he said before leaning in to kiss her. He stopped just centimeters from her face. No, he couldn’t do this. The kids could be watching him. “Are you sure you don’t want to lie down? You can use my room. I apologize, Orihime.”

Her left hand rose to stroke his cheek. “It’s alright. It’s not your fault. It happens from time to time, and sometimes I don’t even know why.” She sighed and dropped her face so that her forehead touched his lips. “I guess the lesson is over. I’ve terrified the children. Poor Eriko… Maybe I should lie down for a bit. Could you tell her that she can come and talk to me if she’s scared or has any questions? I won’t tell her anything inappropriate but I don’t want her to be scared.” She looked up again then, into his eyes, and said, “You too. I don’t want you to be scared. You can talk to me about anything.”

“Orihime, I don’t want to say the wrong thing and cause these… episodes. C’mon, let’s go into the house. I’ll show you to my room and you can compose yourself then come down when you’re ready,” Ulquiorra said, standing. He held his hand out to her. “Please, Woman.”

She smiled at him and took his hand. She didn’t have the mental energy at the moment to argue with him about his fear of causing another episode, but it could wait. “Thanks. I’m kinda excited to see your room,” she said in an unsteady voice, her smile turning into a grin as she squeezed his hand.

A heavy sigh left him as he guided Orihime into the house through the sliding glass door. He saw Eriko getting things out of the refrigerator to make dinner while Kazu stood at the sink. The boy was mumbling. “I’m taking Orihime upstairs. Please remain down here until I come back.”

Eriko nodded before turning to look at her friend.

“Here’s your water, Mom,” Kazui said in a gentle voice, passing it to Ulquiorra before scampering back to his friend.

Ulquiorra helped Orihime up the stairs and then guided her down the hallway to the left. He opened the last door there and then stood to the side. “Go lie down.”

Orihime entered but stood in the doorway, unmoving. She reached up and cupped his cheek with one hand, looking into his eyes. “You are really wonderful to us. Thank you,” she said, standing on tiptoe to kiss him briefly.

Letting out a long breath, Ulquiorra placed his hands on her waist. “Woman,” he murmured. Backing Orihime up until she hit the bed, he kept his lips glued to hers, kissing her deeply. “I want to stay up here with you.”

“How long do you think you can stay before the kids get suspicious?” she whispered.

“Not long. Eriko knows I’m usually in and out. I only come in here for clothes and to sleep,” he replied. “I should let you rest and recuperate.”

Orihime’s breath shuddered. “I don’t know how I’m going to rest after that kiss,” she said, humming in appreciation. “One more?”

Ulquiorra complied with her request, his hands travelling down her sides. “I will come get you when it is time to eat. I will explain to Eriko what happened.”

“Thank you,” she said, giving him a hug before climbing onto the bed. “Which side is yours?”

What an odd question. Ulquiorra pointed to the side near the door. “Why?”

She blushed and bit her lip. “No reason,” she said shyly, before lying down on the side away from the door.

“Oh. You may sleep on my side, but it might be cramped if we were to sleep together.”

She chuckled. “I just… I’m just a silly girl, sometimes, Ulquiorra. I wanted to imagine what it would be like if I was here and we had…You know what, nevermind, get back down to the kids before they get suspicious,” she said, covering her face with her hands and laughing at herself.

Orihime was dealing with trauma. That’s what this was; that’s why she was acting so odd. “Okay, if you need anything, just call for me.”


	14. Chapter 14

Orihime ended up falling asleep. Kazui was sent up to get her when it was time for dinner.

“Mom? Mom, are you awake?”

Orihime turned toward her son’s voice, groaning. “What time is it, Kazui? It’s still dark.”

“It’s time for dinner.”

“Oh!” Orihime sat up quickly, causing her stomach to rock uncomfortably. “Oh, we’re at the Cifers', right?”

Kazui laughed. “Yeah, you must have really conked out.”

His mother chuckled. “Yeah, I guess I did. Can you turn on a light or something? I want to make sure I don’t have drool all over my face.”

The boy did and then came over to sit on the edge of the bed next to his mother. “No drool, Mom. You look pretty as always.”

Orihime reached over and ruffled his hair. “No bedhead? You sure? I don’t want your friend to think your mother is a wild creature.” 

Kazui got up and looked at the back of Orihime’s head and smoothed down the few crooked pieces of hair. “All good now.”

She stood. "Thank you, kind sir. Now if you wouldn’t mind accompanying me downstairs?” 

“Just a minute, Mom, I want to ask you something.”

Orihime sat down again and looked at him. “What is it, honey?”

Kazui bit his lip and looked at her. “Um, do you… Do you like Cifer-sensei?”

Orihime's eyes widened a bit but she managed not to overreact. “Why do you ask, sweetheart?”

Kazui clearly was uncomfortable. “Well, it’s just that Eri seems to think you guys are, like, I don’t know. She keeps hinting that he likes you. I didn’t see it. But today after your episode, he was being really, like, nice and stuff, and you were…”

“Oh, honey, don’t worry. I do like Eri’s dad. He is very kind and nice, like you said. But we are just starting to be friends. We haven’t known each other very long. We do like each other, though. Eri is right about that. I enjoy spending time with him and you kids. It’s nice that we can all get along and have fun together.”

Kazui looked up at her suspiciously. “So that’s it, then? You’re not going to get married and have more kids? Because that’s what Eri thinks.”

Orihime chuckled, and then started to laugh. “Sweetie, nobody is talking about getting married and having more kids. That’s Eri’s overactive imagination. Cifer-sensei told me she watches too many dramas,” she explained, ruffling his hair again. “Come on, let’s go downstairs.”

***

After Kazui went upstairs to get his mother, Eriko decided it was time. “You were going to kiss her, weren’t you?”

“What?”

“Orihime, you touched her. You kissed her forehead. She’s in your room. You never let anyone into your room.”

Ulquiorra sighed as he put rice into bowls. “Eriko, please. Stop this nonsense.”

“I’m not saying it’s a bad thing, Dad. I like Orihime. She’s a wonderful mom. I wish she was my mom instead of Yuko,” Eriko said before placing the bowls on the table. “She seems to make you happy and you’ve been alone for a long time. Sato said she always thought you’d never find anyone else to be with. You’d never have any more kids.”

“I hate to break your heart, but I don’t plan on having anymore children. You are it.” Ulquiorra grabbed the plate with the grilled vegetables and fish on it and carried it over to the table and sat it down. “Look, Eriko. There was a time I fell in love with a woman. I would have died for this… I almost did. I cannot chase those memories anymore. I have to think about you. You are my priority now; my mission.”

The girl looked unhappy and started pouting. “Was I a mistake? Auntie says I was.”

“No you were not a mistake. A surprise, but never a mistake. You are my Fraccion and I would die for you. I would kill for you.”

Eriko’s eyes went wide as she listened to her dad. He didn’t mean that. “Do you love Orihime?”

He raised an eyebrow and looked at his child, who looked back at him with the same green eyes. “Didn’t we just go over this?”

“Why can’t you just tell me?”

“Eri, honestly, you’re being rude.”

“You’re being rude.”

“Fine! Yes! Is that what you wanted to know? At one point in time years ago, I was in love with her.” Ulquiorra turned away from his daughter. He was irritated. He walked over to the sliding glass door and went outside, standing on the deck. No, he wasn’t irritated, he was annoyed. The girl kept persisting until he had spilled his secrets. He reached up with a hand and rubbed his neck. He shouldn’t have said anything. He should have put his foot down as the adult and stood his ground.

Orihime and Kazui came down a few moments later. “Wow, everything smells delicious! Oh, it looks so nice, too. Did you help, Eri-chan?” she asked with a wide smile.

Eriko nodded. “Yes, thank you. Dad tries to make each meal an experience that is pleasing to the mind.” She looked at Orihime and then out the huge windows.

“Is something wrong, sweetie?” she asked, noticing the tension in the girl’s brow. “Where is your dad?”

“He’s outside. He’s mad.”

“Oh no, did something happen? Should I go talk to him?”

The girl nodded. “I was asking questions.”

Orihime nodded. Based on the conversation she had just had with her son, she could guess roughly what the topic of said questions might be. “Okay. You two go wash your hands and make sure everything is ready. I’ll be right back,” she said, letting herself out.

“Hey,” she said softly as she closed the sliding door.

“Hello,” Ulquiorra replied. “Do you feel rested?”

She chuckled. “Yes, I fell fast asleep. Kazui had to pat my hair down for me. Your bed is very comfortable.”

Ulquiorra turned his head and looked at her. “Thank you? It’s supposed to be comfortable. I spent most of my college years and my early teaching years on a futon on the floor. I hated it.”

She nodded and faced the same direction he was facing before. “I wouldn’t want to go back to those days, either. So, what’s upset you? Eri said you were mad.”

“She’s a nosy child who is prying where she doesn’t need to be.”

Orihime smiled and looked at him. “That’s what they do. They love us, so they think our business is their business. Kazui was asking me questions, too.”

He gave the woman a side-eyed glance. “Eriko asked me very personal questions. I answered them because I was becoming annoyed.”

“Oh. Well, maybe you should tell her not to tell Kazui. I was very diplomatic in my answers.”

“Woman.” Ulquiorra shook his head. “I don’t think she will say anything because I got angry.”

Orihime nodded. He knew her best. “Dinner looks great. Do you cook often?”

“Every night. I have to make sure Eriko gets the proper nutrients. Otherwise she would eat sweets and doughnuts.”

Orihime chuckled again. “When I was her age all I ate was red bean paste, white bread and leeks. She is lucky to have such a great dad.”

Ulquiorra knew that the food that Aizen had served her wasn’t much better, but it had been nutritionally complete. It had been bland, tasteless porridge-like stuff. He didn’t mention this because he didn’t want her to have a mental breakdown again. “What did Kazui ask you?”

She grinned at him and answered, “He asked if I liked you and if we liked each other. I told him that of course we do, we all enjoy spending time together. Then he said Eri was suggesting much more serious notions.” She paused to gauge his reaction; she did want to make his mood worse.

He nodded, understanding what she was saying. She was covering the truth from her son, while he laid it out for his daughter. “She watches too many dramas. The scant hours I’ve spent with you I have thoroughly enjoyed. ” 

“Same. Don’t worry. I didn’t lie to Kazui, but I assured him that nobody is discussing having more kids or getting married or moving in together at this point. These kids get so worked up. They worry about their own places in our lives.” She looked forward to the trees again. “I wish they knew how much we love them.”

“Are you hungry?” he asked, changing the subject, no longer wanting to discuss this. He wanted her to know how much he loved her and his daughter. Orihime’s son was slowly growing on him.

“Starving!” she replied with a bright grin.

***

The weather was warm on Saturday when Ulquiorra got out of bed. It was muggy. He didn’t like heat, instead preferring the autumn and winter months. He got Eriko up and went downstairs to start breakfast. 

“Eriko! Get a move on!”

Instead of hearing a reply from his daughter, he heard her scream. In an instant, Ulquiorra used Sonido to transport himself upstairs, running down the hall to her room. The girl stood there with bloody pajamas, crying.

Oh no. Oh no, no, no. “What’s wrong? What happened?”

“I don’t know! I’m dying!”

“Are you hurt? Did someone get into your room?”

This made Eriko cry harder. “My belly hurts!” she yelled.

Ulquiorra was somewhat taken aback by the volume of his daughter’s words. “I will tend to your ailment after we find out what caused this injury.”

“Go call Orihime! Please!”

Shit. Oh god. His eyes went wide. _Puberty_. With slow steps, Ulquiorra backed out of his daughter’s room and then walked down the hall to his bedroom, picking up the phone. He found Orihime’s contact, pressing it.

“Good morning,” Orihime said, sounding like she was mid-stretch. “This is a nice wake-up call.”

“Eriko woke up bloody. She wanted me to call you.” Ulquiorra said the words quickly. He was on the verge of panicking.

Orihime was alarmed, but had her suspicions. She had gotten the impression from Eriko over the past few months that puberty was imminent. The moodiness, the increased interest in romantic notions, the sensitivity, and the backsass… They were all markers of hormonal shifts. “Ulquiorra, everything’s going to be alright. Can I talk to her?” she said relatively calmly.

“I do not want to approach her. She screamed at me,” Ulquiorra replied. “I’m not sure what to do. Shouldn’t there have been some warning? Some sign?”

“Oh, Darling, there were signs, but they are difficult to pick out if you haven’t lived through them yourself. Now, I need you to be a big strong Papa Bear and face your snarling cub, okay?” Orihime said with a gentle lilt to her voice. “Everything is going to be alright. Just lean over and hold the phone out to her.”

Sighing, Ulquiorra slowly walked back down to Eriko’s room. She was sitting on her desk chair, crying. “Eri, baby, do you want to talk to Orihime?”

The girl nodded and held her hand out for the phone. “Hello?”

“Hi sweetie. How are you doing?” Orihime said in a soft, comforting voice.

“I’m dying,” she groaned. Eriko wasn’t paying attention as her dad slinked out of the room. “It hurts. I’m bleeding. This wasn’t supposed to happen yet.”

“Oh, sweetheart, I know, I know. Mine came when I was twelve. You’re not even there yet. It’s not fair. But you know what? It’s not all bad news. Today while the boys are practicing Kendo, you and I are going to go out and go shopping. After we get you cleaned up and ease those cramps though, okay? Can you trust me?”

“I--I--I--” Eriko tried to say words that conveyed how upset she was but she just started sobbing again. “Dad is clueless!”

Orihime sighed and chuckled softly. “I know, baby girl, but only because dads will never know what it’s like. You’re lucky. You have a dad who loves you and wants to take care of you. He just doesn’t know, so don’t be mad at him, okay? Take a deep breath. Take a couple deep breaths. Then when you’re ready, call your dad to take the phone from you, then I want you to grab some towels and go take a long, hot shower. When you’re done, I will be there, I promise. Okay?”

“Promise?” Eriko asked as she shuffled over to the door.

“Promise. Everything is going to be fine.”

“Daddy! Hime wants you!”

Ulquiorra could have choked on the laughter he was holding back before he took the phone from Eriko. He gave the girl her privacy by walking down the stairs. “Well?”

“Your suspicions are correct,” she said with a conciliatory sigh. “I’m going to gather up some supplies and come straight over. I’m not even going to clean up much, so don’t expect me to be a fresh flower for you,” she joked, partially. She hoped she didn’t stink. “I’ll have Kazui take the train later for his lesson and maybe you can pick him up at the station then. Quick question though, how bad is the mess?”

He squirmed slightly. “The pajamas are… and I don’t know. Is there magical stuff to remove blood? I don’t want to go buy her new bedding.”

Orihime sighed and rolled her eyes. “It’s not magic, but hydrogen peroxide will take care of it if we treat it right away. If you are not too grossed out while she takes a shower you can strip the bed and soak the sheets in _cold_ water. Not hot. Hot will set the stain. Anything you find can go into cold water. Otherwise, just go have a cup of coffee and wait for me to get there. I know this is traumatic for you, too, Papa Bear.”

“What--What about the mattress? Do I need to take her to the hospital? Why is this happening?” Ulquiorra was definitely panicking now.

“Ulquiorra, please. Sit down. Take a deep breath. She doesn’t need a hospital. This is happening because she is a healthy female. This is part of life. Everything will be alright. I’ll be right there.” She had already gathered up some pads and hydrogen peroxide from her bathroom. She went down out to her kitchen cabinet where she kept her medicines and grabbed some pain medicine. “All you need to do is hang on and try to relax, Darling. It’s going to be okay.”

“Okay, you said cold water. Oh, geez, there’s blood all over her bed… and the blanket. I’m going to need to mop her floor… For some reason I don’t like blood,” Ulquiorra stated as he gathered everything from Eriko’s bed. He would have to take everything down to the washer. Could he put peroxide into the machine?

“Just throw it all into a big bucket or plastic storage container outside and pour cold water onto it. I’ll deal with it when I get there. It will be easier that way. I’ve got to get into the car now. Don’t worry too much, okay? We’ll get through it together.”

Ulquiorra sighed. “Thank you. I love you. You’re such a big help.” He was just saying stuff without thinking. He hung up the phone and then promptly dropped the device. Had he actually said…? Without dwelling on it, Ulquiorra put Eriko’s dirty sheets into a basket and took it outside to the deck. He found a big washtub that Sato had kept in the storage closet and pretty soon had it full of cold water. He just dumped all the bloody items into it. He made himself some coffee and then cleaned the floor upstairs where there was a blood trail. He didn’t need Eriko to be embarrassed about this.

Orihime had woken Kazui up just long enough to tell him the plan and then told the staff at the cafe to expect him for breakfast, and that there would be no delivery service today, before getting everything in the Halcyon van and driving into Naruki City. The drive to Ulquiorra’s house took a little less than twenty minutes. When she knocked at the door, she was wearing shorts, a t-shirt, an apron, and a handkerchief tied over her hair. She looked like a cleaning lady, with a literal bucket of supplies in hand.

Pulling the door open, Ulquiorra looked at the woman. “Thank god you’re here. She’s still in the bathroom and crying.”

Orihime nodded. “Lead the way, Papa Bear,” she said. She was tempted to kiss him, but she could tell by his worried expression that the only thing on his mind was helping his little girl. Her heart swelled with affection at the thought.

“Upstairs, middle door. Every time I ask her if she’s okay, she just cries more. She--Eriko says she wants Sato or you and I tried to explain that Sato wouldn’t be coming back... ” Ulquiorra ran his hands through his long black hair and sighed in frustration.

Orihime paused. “Don’t take it personally, Ulquiorra. She loves you. She just knows you don’t know. That scares her. She loves you. She just needs a woman for this.” She reached out and ran her hand down his upper arm. “We’ll get through this, together, remember?” She smiled at him and then turned to go up the stairs.

When she walked past him, Ulquiorra reached out and grabbed Orihime’s arm and stopped her. He leaned towards her and gently kissed her. “Thank you, Woman.”

Orihime sighed and smiled at him, lovestruck. She wasn’t ready to answer his accidental sentiment on the phone, but it didn’t mean she didn’t think about it. “You’re welcome. It’s… It’s really actually my pleasure.” Her smile widened and she shook her head at her stupid word choice. “I better--” she was interrupted by a wail from upstairs. “Yeah, I better,” she said.

He watched her go upstairs and then poured himself another cup of coffee. He had a feeling he was going to need all the caffeine that he could handle.

Orihime got to the bathroom door and gave it a slight rap. “Eri-chan? It’s Orihime. Can I come in?”

“Orihime?”

“Yes, honey, It’s me. Can I open the door?”

“Yeah, I’m decent. Please, come in,” Eriko said in a pitiful voice.

Orihime opened the door and peeked inside and her heart broke. Eri looked tiny and terrified. “Oh, sweet girl, come here,” she said, not actually making Eriko move, but sweeping toward her and gathering her in her arms for a big hug, pressing her lips to the girl’s head.

Eriko put her arms around the woman and sniffled. “It hurts. Is it supposed to hurt? Is Kazui here? I don’t want him to know about this. He won’t be my friend.”

Orihime took her questions backward. “Of course he’ll be your friend. He knows about this, in general. I talked to him about it when he was younger. His grandpa is a doctor, so he heard it from him, too. He knows it’s a normal part of life for girls. But, you’re right, it’s none of his business. It’s yours and yours alone and no one has to know except your dad and your doctor and whoever you want to tell. That’s why Kazui is still at home, probably sleeping,” she chuckled a bit. “He won’t come here until this afternoon for his lesson, and we should be long gone by then. As for the pain? Sometimes it hurts. Sometimes it doesn’t. There are some things we can do to help it, though. Did it feel better when you were in the shower?”

The girl nodded. “Yes,” she said. “But now that I’m out it hurts.”

“Yeah, you’ll want to keep your belly and back warm. I’ve brought some warming pads we can put on your skin. I’ve also brought some pain relieving pills you can take when the pain is very sharp. Would you like to try some? I’ll have to ask your dad first, but I think it will help.”

“Dad won’t let me have medicine unless I’m sick,” she said. Her bottom lip stuck out and quivered for a moment. “I don’t have anything here. I’m going to make a mess. My dad’s probably going to faint because of the blood.”

Orihime shook her bucket. “I’ve got you covered, sweetie. I’ll get some clean underwear from your room for you and I’ll show you how to use these. And you would be proud of your dad. He was super brave,” she said with a warm smile. “Now I’ll go get those undies and I’ll be right back, okay?”

Eriko nodded as the woman left. Ulquiorra was waiting out in the hallway. “Is she okay?” he whispered.

She hugged him, nodding. “She’s fine.” She looked up at him, still holding him around the torso. “Do you mind if she has a pain reliever? I brought some, but I told her I wouldn’t give her one unless you approved.”

A sigh left the man. “Only if it’s necessary,” he replied.

“It is, trust me. It won’t always be, but sometimes the first day or so of a cycle is very painful. After you left my house last week I was in bed for half of the day.” Orihime smiled and looked toward Eriko’s room. “Can you show me where she keeps her underwear?”

“Of course,” he said and led Orihime to the girl’s room. “So if you have a period, that means what? Not pregnant?”

“Right. Women who have started puberty go through a four to five week-long cycle during which the uterus grows a blood-rich lining, then an egg is released. If the egg is not fertilized it dies and then the uterine lining sheds, leaving the body. That’s the period, and then the cycle starts over again. If the egg is fertilized it will implant itself into the uterine lining and pregnancy occurs,” she explained matter-of-factly.

He felt like he was going to faint. It wasn’t like Aizen had taught classes on human reproduction while he was an Arrancar. “You had a period recently, correct?”

“Yes, from Saturday to Wednesday. Why do you ask?” She wasn’t bothered by his question, but she was curious about his motivation.

“Timing to avoid copulation,” he replied, as if it was the most obvious answer in the world.

She snickered. “Don’t worry, now that I know you don’t like blood, I’ll warn you,” she said, opening the girl’s dresser and pulling out a pair of dark blue colored underwear.

“Do you think--” Ulquiorra shook his head; there was no way she’d say yes. “Never mind.”

“No, ask me. Do I think what?” she asked, pausing in front of him.

Ulquiorra glanced at the woman, feeling childish for asking. “I missed you. Can you stay tonight?”

She blushed a bit and smiled at him. “Maybe. I think we’re smart enough to come up with some plausible explanation about why it’s absolutely necessary.” She kissed him and then started toward the bathroom. “You think of excuses while I tend to Eri, okay?”

His body felt like it was on fire as she walked away. “Fine,” he called after her.

Orihime smirked as she knocked on the door and let herself back into the bathroom. “Okay, I’ve brought you some new underwear. Now, I’ve brought some sanitary pads for you to try. We can go to the store and get some smaller ones for you if these are uncomfortable, but they will do in a pinch.” Orihime held the underwear up and demonstrated how to affix the pad to it, then turned around to let the girl try it out. While her back was to the girl, she explained to her about proper hygiene, the frequency at which to change to new supplies and how to properly dispose of used items. “Let me know if you have any questions or need any help. You don’t have to be embarrassed about me seeing you or helping you, if that is what you need. I’m here to help you.”

Eriko frowned and followed Orihime’s directions. She should have been warned about this way before it even happened. Her mother should have told her this instead of a woman who her dad liked or loved. Her dad had handed her books and instructed her to read them. They weren’t interesting. They didn’t have the soothing tone that Orihime had while explaining what was happening. It was all clinical and scientific. “I hate Yuko,” she said after she put the rest of her clothes on.

“Who is Yuko, honey?” Orihime knew, but she didn’t want the girl to know that she knew.

“She used my dad. She’s the woman who gave birth to me,” Eriko stated. 

Orihime nodded and hummed thoughtfully as she stood behind the girl reflected in the bathroom mirror. She gave her a pill and a bottle of water. “Your father said it was okay to take this,” she said, before peeling off the paper from the adhesive surface of a heating pad. “You can put this on your belly when you’re done. I’ll put one on your back.”

Eriko took the medicine and then put the heating pad on where it hurt the most. She stood still as a statue while Orihime put another on her back. “Thank you.”

“Don’t thank me, sweetheart. You are special to me. I’d do it in a heartbeat,” she said as she started to carefully untangle the girl’s hair. Once the biggest knots were out, she took the brush off the side of the sink and began going through the strands. “You know, I didn’t have a mother, either.”

“You didn’t? Did your dad raise you too?”

“No. My big brother did, but he died when I was twelve. He was hit by a car. I had to learn that even though it’s not easy, you can learn to trust other people, too; ones outside your family. There are a lot of people who care about you, too, Eri.”

“No they don’t. I look weird. I’m different. Kids make fun of me. Oh look at her, she has green eyes. I bet my dad didn’t even think about that. He should have known how hard it is for a kid to grow up here.”

Orihime wrapped her arms around the girl’s shoulders, and put her mouth near her ear. “I don’t dye my hair this color. Neither does Kazui,” she giggled softly. “Neither did his dad. We all have weird hair. We’re all misfits. But we found great friends, anyway. Just like you found Kazui.” Orihime stood up and looked at Eri’s reflection in the mirror. “Besides, you are lucky to have your father’s eyes. They are the most beautiful color I’ve ever seen.” She turned the girl gently to the side and bent down to her level. “And your father… Don’t be angry with him. He couldn’t have known how hard it would be. He couldn’t have known that Yuko would use him. What she did wasn’t fair to either of you. But I’m glad she met your father, and I’m glad that you were born,” she said with a warm smile. “So is he. He loves you with his whole heart.”

That made the girl’s bottom lip jut out and Eriko’s eyes filled with tears. She turned around in Orihime’s arms and gave her a big hug. “I wish you were my mom,” she cried, burying her face into the woman’s shoulder. “I still hate her.”

Orihime returned her embrace, soothing her back with the palm of one hand. “I can’t tell you how to feel, Eri-chan. I hope that someday you won’t feel so angry with Yuko. I hope someday you can understand that people will sometimes let you down,sometimes in really, really big ways. There’s nothing you can do about it, except accept it and move on. But I am here for you. Kazui’s here for you, and your father will always be your biggest supporter.” Orihime was careful not to address the girl’s confession about wanting her as her mother. It wouldn’t be right to give the girl any kind of hope, false or otherwise, at this point. “Are you starting to feel any better? Do you want to lie down for a bit or have something to eat?” 

“I want to lay down. I want chocolate. I was some salty snacks. I know if I go downstairs to eat, Dad has made eggs and rice,” Eriko complained.

“Hmm, that sounds good. Do you mind if I eat yours? I’ll sneak you up some forbidden treats,” she said, as if dangling a carrot.

The girl shrugged. “Go ahead, and good luck getting anything that isn’t actual food past Grumpypants Cifer. Thank you again, Orihime.” Eriko stepped back and gave the woman a small smile. Today just sucked so far.

Orihime smiled at her and bent over to kiss the crown of her head before straightening up. “Go to bed. You have so little faith in my charming skills… I’ll be back up in a couple minutes with goodies, you just wait,” she said with a chuckle, stepping toward the door. She watched as Eriko went back to her room, and then galloped down the stairs. 

She found Ulquiorra in the kitchen, staring into a cup of coffee. “Alright. I need three things. No, I need four things. I need chocolate. I need a salty snack. I need a cup of coffee, and I need Eri’s breakfast.”

“No, no, cups are over in the cupboard by the wall and the coffee pot is on the counter and her plate is on the table,” Ulquiorra said from where he sat at the kitchen island with a stack of papers and a pen.

“No? No? You’re going to deny me, the woman who came all the way from the next town over, still in my disgusting hair from yesterday, a couple simple requests?”

Ulquiorra looked at the redhead. She didn’t look disgusting. She looked rather casual and it was nice to see her like this. “No, I do not have chocolate in the house. No, I have no salty snacks. Thus I will deny your simple requests.”

“Ah ha,” Orihime said in understanding. “I see. In that case, I leave you. I’ll be back,” she said, leaving her bucket on the floor and grabbing her keys from where she left them on the island, leaning in to kiss Ulquiorra’s cheek before she stood back up. “Do you need me to pick up anything else?”

Confusion crossed his features. “Wait a minute, where are you going? I’ll be going to the store later to shop, but you just got here.”

She smiled at him gently. He didn’t understand. “I’ll be right back, I’m just going to run to the nearest convenience store. Eri needs chocolate and salt. They will ease her discomfort. She is resting in bed right now. Thank you for redressing her bed,” Orihime said, running her hand through his hair. Eri was so lucky to have him, she thought. Sora had been great, but he had been just a kid himself. 

“Just doing what a normal father would do,” Ulquiorra said. “Thank you for helping her.”

“Anytime.” She smiled and left.


	15. Chapter 15

Orihime arrived back with chocolate and snacks and ran them up to Eri’s room. The girl was halfway asleep so she left the items by her bedside and came back down to her father. She made herself a cup of coffee and helped herself to the breakfast Ulquiorra had made for the girl. “She seems to be feeling better now. She’s resting. Where’s this laundry that needs conquering?” she asked before taking a sip of the steaming black beverage.

Ulquiorra was still grading papers when she spoke. He didn’t even look up as he pointed to the big windows. “It’s out there in that tub. I put cold water and peroxide in it. They’ve been soaking ever since I hung up with you earlier,” he stated.

Orihime didn’t respond. She took her time eating and drinking her coffee, observing Ulquiorra work. She wasn’t making any judgments or revelations, just enjoying the quiet company. Ten minutes later she finished rinsing out her dishes, grabbed the bucket she brought, and went outside.

It was still a mess.

She spread out the sheets, blankets, nightclothes, and towels onto the grass and driveway and took out another bottle of peroxide. While Ulquiorra’s quick actions kept the stains from setting, the now brown marks on the fabric had not gone away, but rather bled out into lighter blotches. She poured the solution from the brown bottle carefully over each spot, watching it foam up. When that was done, the bottle was empty. She poured the water out of the wash tub and stood up, stretching her back. She had about fifteen minutes to kill while the peroxide worked. It was a gorgeous day. Her skin was too pale. She took off her apron and handkerchief and found a sunny spot to lie down in, pulling the legs of her already short shorts up and rolling up the sleeves of her t-shirt.

As soon as he was done with his work, Ulquiorra walked out the sliding glass door and peered around for the woman. He found her lying in the yard. He walked down the steps and over to where she was. “What are you doing?” he asked, letting his eyes wander over her body.

She shaded her eyes with one hand as she opened them to look at him, squinting in the bright light. “Just getting some sun while I wait for the stain treatment to work. Are you taking a break?”

“I’m finished… for now. So yes, I suppose I am taking a break,” he replied. Ulquiorra sat down next to her before fishing a hair tie from his pocket. The sun was making him regret having long hair. It only took several seconds for him to twist the black mass into a low bun, but tendrils of hair still escaped. “Is she okay?”

“She’s fine,” Orihime said, biting her lip, appreciating the messy hairdo. He looked good. “She’s a lot better than she was this morning. I’m going to have to take her out shopping later. I hope she’s up for it; she doesn’t want to see Kazui today.”

Not see Kazui? Had hell frozen over? Ulquiorra shook his head. “That might break your son’s heart,” he commented, placing a hand on her knee. “So my plan is to get you intoxicated so you can’t leave tonight.”

Orihime laughed hard enough that she had to hold onto her breasts to keep them from shaking uncomfortably. “Well, that is a decent plan. Sounds fun, too,” she finally said, grinning up at him. Her heart thumped in her chest and she took a deep, steadying breath through her nostrils. She couldn’t stop smiling. She couldn’t remember the last time she felt like this. “And Kazui will get over it,” she tacked on, remembering the other thing he said. “He takes things at face value most of the time; it will roll off his back if we just tell him she’s not feeling well.”

“Hmmm,” he hummed as his fingers started stroking the skin above her knee. “I’m hoping one of these days we can have sex when alcohol isn’t involved and when I don’t have to make excuses to keep you near me.”

Orihime bit her lip. The thing he was doing to her leg and the tone of his voice were doing things to her body. She rolled over to her side and propped her head up with her hand. “Well, we could have sober sex right now. I can be quiet.”

The corner of his lip twitched as Ulquiorra contemplated their options. “You want to have sex outside again?” he asked, giving her a sly look.

“I have no objections. It rocked my world the first time,” she replied, one leg sliding up and down the length of the other slowly as she walked the fingers of her free hand over to his knee.

Ulquiorra had to swallow down the feeling of desire for now. He had other things nagging at his thoughts at the moment. Why didn’t Orihime want to go inside to do this? Was it because of Eriko? As he thought, lust creeped back into his mind. It was no use, as soon Orihime touched him he knew what he wanted. “This once a week schedule is bullshit,” he said as he laid down on the grass next to her, facing Orihime.

She scooted her body closer to his, so that there was really not much space between them, and kissed his lips briefly. “I know. It’s hard that we live so far apart and have so much going on,” she kissed him again, nipping at his bottom lip.

He wasn’t going to get his hopes up. This woman didn’t want anything serious. They were fulfilling a need… Giving into primal instincts. Orihime just liked him, while he was falling madly in love with her. He wished he could demand that she move closer to him and he wished that he had the confidence to tell her that he would gladly move closer to her. Ulquiorra looked at Orihime before he pulled her closer to him, kissing her. It was somewhat aggressive, but he might as well take some of his frustration out this way.

Orihime gasped into his mouth, loving the way his tongue insisted on finding its way into hers. A soft moan left her nostrils as her leg hitched itself over his hip. He was so sexy. Everything about him… the way he moved and spoke and looked. They way he cared and worked and… Appreciated. What he said on the phone to her. She didn’t know in what capacity he meant it, but he had said that he loved her.

She knew that in some capacity, she returned his feelings. If she had been a younger woman and had no child to think about, she would have thrown caution to the wind and declared her undying devotion to him already. As it was, though, she needed a bit more time to surrender to the idea. She couldn’t lead Eri and Kazui down a path of broken hearts if there turned out to be something that would break them apart.

In the meantime, this physical part of their relationship was ten out of ten, would fuck again. Over and over and over again, she thought, as her hands wormed up under his shirt.

Damn. This woman already had him hard and wishing he was inside of her. She always had the power of bewitching him. “I want you, Orihime,” he groaned as he pressed his body against hers.

“Then take me. I’m yours, remember?” she hissed back. Oops. She got carried away. She meant it, though.

Ulquiorra pulled back and stared at her for a moment. Maybe… maybe there was some miscommunication between them. Perhaps she did feel like he did. He rolled over so he was on his back and pulled her on top of him, one hand gripping her thigh while the other moved between her legs. “Mine,” he breathed.

Oh god. Oh for fuck’s sake. That should not have her quaking. Her heart should not be fluttering and threatening to beat out of her chest. That word and this gesture should make her livid; indignant, not a simpering… whatever.

‘Should’ could go fuck itself. Her body spoke for itself. “Yours,” she whispered, her hands roaming under his shirt.

He didn’t get the chance the first time, so Ulquiorra used this moment to pull her shorts to the side and tease her skin. Shit. She was already wet. Ulquiorra swallowed and looked up Orihime. The hand on her thigh came up and grabbed the front of her shirt, pulling her down so that he could kiss her. “You are so perfect, Woman.”

“I-- I--” The words caught in her throat. She hadn’t known him long enough! How could she know that she loved him? Why did she feel an overwhelming compulsion to say it? It wasn’t about reciprocation, either. She meant it.

She was afraid of destroying all of them with it, though, so she swallowed it down. “I need you, Ulquiorra. Everything about you,” she admitted.

Hearing her say that made his blood hotter. It made his cock twitch. She needed him? He needed her in the same capacity. He wanted to monopolize her time. He wanted all of her attention. Ulquiorra wanted to help raise Kazui into a strong young man. 

Fuck.

He was so fucked. This was much more than lust and copulation. This more than emotions and feelings. Ulquiorra wanted to spend the rest of his life with her. It was silly, though. His memories as an Arrancar were pushing at the edge of his mind. She had a hand in his death. Had she just stayed--No! He was not going to allow himself to think of this. She was in front of him now, and she was his.

“You can have me,” he murmured against her neck, kissing and sucking on the skin there. Ulquiorra took his hands away from her body, once again reaching down between her legs. This time he was undoing the fastening on his own shorts, before he reached inside of them and his boxer briefs to pull out his already hard cock. “We need each other.” 

Orihime’s hand pushed her shorts and panties to the side. There was enough space to make room for him. Her hand found his around his cock and she helped guide him to her entrance, then sunk down on him slowly. Once she settled on him, she sighed and leaned forward, kissing his lips, and then propped herself up with her palms on the grass at either side of his neck. She didn’t move at first, just stared down at his face. What was this overwhelming feeling? She had never felt this way, well, not exactly, anyway, about her late husband. “Mine?” she whispered her question, her thumb stroking the side of his face as she began to rock on top of him.

The heat that engulfed him made his eyes roll back into his head and it took him a moment to calm down. Ulquiorra bit his lip and nodded his answer to her. “Yours,” he said as he grabbed her hips. “I’ve always been yours.”

Shit. There went all her good intentions. She wanted him. She wanted to be with him. She wanted Eriko to be _her_ daughter as much as the girl said she wanted Orihime to be her mother. “I don’t know what happened between us before,” she whispered as she moved. “But I can feel it in my bones. We’re connected.”

He lifted his hips to thrust into the woman. “Shhh, don’t think about it right now. Just focus on us, Orihime. Focus on how good you feel on top of me. Focus on how I’m moving in and out of you. You’re so tight and hot.”

Why would he say that? The idea troubled her a bit. But he was right, she felt amazing. Her legs were shaking and she collapsed on top of him, letting him thrust up into her. She whimpered softly. “You’re so big and hard. I feel like you could rip me open and I’d beg for more.”

“You want more?” Ulquiorra growled in her ear. He quickened his pace and the force of the thrusts. A groan left his throat. “Woman, I want to make love to you every night. I want to kiss you everyday.”

He knew he should be quiet but this felt too good to censor himself.

Her walls clamped down on him, his words driving her to completion. “Ulquiorra,” she whined into his neck, her emotions flooding her as she came. “I want that, too.” Tears dripped onto his chest as she rode out her orgasm in quiet gasps.

That pressure flared up his spine and he had shut his eyes tightly to ride out his own release inside of her. Everything felt too intense with her. “I love you,” he murmured once he could speak. It was a quiet declaration.

She pushed herself up a bit and looked down at him, then dipped her head down to kiss him deeply. A few moments later, she pushed back up again and stared into his eyes. She didn’t know how. She didn’t know why. But she knew. 

“I love you, too.”

Ulquiorra offered her a rare smile, before he wrapped his arms around her. “We should get cleaned up before Eriko wakes up or Kazui comes running up the drive. We will talk about this later tonight,” he said, caressing her back.

She nodded against his chest and lifted her hips, letting him slip out of her. 

“Is something wrong?” he asked as he sat up with her still on his lap.

“No,” she murmured. “I just…” She sighed. She couldn’t figure out how she felt, much less tell him. One thing stood out, though. “I wish we could just tell them.”

Ulquiorra made a small noise and then cleared his throat. “Eriko knows,” he finally said.

She chuckled. It figured. “I’m not as worried about her. She seems all for it.”

He bit his lip again before sliding his hands into her hair. Her lips were soft against his and her taste sweet. Already, Ulquiorra wanted to be inside of her again. “I could talk to Kazui about it,” he offered.

She smiled at him. “Maybe when the time is right. Soon, I hope. I just want him to start to see it for himself a bit first, I think. Hopefully then it won’t be such a shock? I don’t know. You’re the teacher. What do you think?”

He didn’t really know what to think. He didn’t think it was right that their children got to dictate their time together, but what could Ulquiorra do? He shrugged. “I’m not saying let’s tell them we’re having sex, but we should present it to them in a logical way that we’re seeing each other on a more intimate level. I know I will never replace Kurosaki in Kazui’s eyes. ”

Orihime sighed. “I’ll talk to him this week. No promises about how far the conversation will go, but it will be a start,” she offered, hoping to placate him somewhat.

“You don’t have to, Orihime,” Ulquiorra said. “It would just make things easier. We wouldn’t need to come up with excuses.” He sighed and turned his head towards the house. If he could talk to Urahara about breaking this thing, maybe Orihime would remember him. Maybe she would realize who he was and hate him. There were a lot of unknowns on the table at the moment.

Orihime nodded. It would be easier if they could be open about it, but it would only be easier for themselves. “We’ll just play it by ear, for now. It seems like we do not have so much control over how things come out anyway, if Eriko is any indication, right?” she smiled at him.

“I’ve not asked Eriko for a reaction or asked her opinion on the matter. She asked and it irritated me, so I answered in an irrational fashion.” Ulquiorra kissed Orihime again. “That’s what happened on Thursday before dinner.”

“Oh,” Orihime was not surprised to learn this, but she didn’t know the reason. “Why does it irritate you so much?” she asked, sitting up. She was curious.

Ulquiorra shrugged. “I think you will hate me if you ever recover your memory concerning me,” he replied.

“Why do you think that?”

“Orihime, this is something that we should not talk about. It might trigger another episode.”

“Maybe I should talk to someone about those… I just don’t know who. I don’t know who I can trust. I thought I could trust Ishida-kun, but he always advises that I allow the past to stay in the past. I don’t know why no one will just tell me. It might make things easier.”

“Have you had more of these episodes since I came into your life?”

“Hmm, I don’t know. They always came in clusters before, too.”

Ulquiorra looked at her for a moment. He almost wanted to tell her that she would be better off if he wasn’t in her life. There was no way he would give her up though. He would probably fight tooth and nail to stay in Orihime’s life. He decided he wouldn’t think about that right now. “C’mon Woman. Let’s see how that stain treatment is going.”

“Oh, crap!” she said, standing quickly. It had totally slipped her mind already. She adjusted her shorts and waited for Ulquiorra to readjust, asking, “where is your washing machine?”

He stood up and turned away from Orihime as he made himself decent. “Uh, the bathroom on the first floor. Soap and everything is in there.”

She smiled, amused at his modesty. “Okay,” she said to herself as she bent over to grab her handkerchief and apron from the ground. She stood and put them back into place before grabbing the wash bin and refilling it with the soaked items. “So far so good, “ she called out, under the assumption that Ulquiorra was still where she had left him.

As soon as she bent over, Ulquiorra had to turn his head away from the woman, his mouth set in a thin line. Once again he was being tested. He knew he was patient, but sometimes things had limits. So he quickly moved away from her due to his frustration with the situation. Why couldn’t he be free to do as he wanted? He reached the deck before he answered her. “Do you want help carrying the tub inside?”

“Sure,” she chirped, turning to face him with a smile. Damn, he was nice. Ichigo would have just watched her do it, then when she complained about a back ache later, he would have complained that she should have asked for help. She rolled her eyes at herself. Why was she comparing them against one another? They were different people and deserved to be treated as such… She could also keep ignoring the voice in her head telling her, _“This might be the replacement to fill Ichigo’s role.”_

Restraint, practice restraint, he told himself as he walked over to Orihime and grabbed the container from her. “Please, go ahead,” Ulquiorra said to her. 

“Okay,” she replied. She again rolled her eyes at herself. Why had she used that breathy, lovestruck tone of voice? They were doing laundry, not getting married. _Time, place, occasion, Orihime,_ she told herself. She led the way to the bathroom and turned to grab the stuff out of the bucket and then started the machine. Once it was turned on, she turned towards Ulquiorra, leaning against the washer, and said, “Now, we wait, unless there is something else you’d like to do.”

Naughty mental images flooded his mind. Ulquiorra shook his head. “Not at the moment,” he said. “I should go check on Eriko unless you’d like to...” It sounded more like a question than a statement.

Orihime bit her lip. “I should have brought a change of clothes. I should ask Kazui to bring me some. Maybe a couple. I’m going to need a shower eventually.” What was it about Ulquiorra that made her feel like she could just be as forward as she wanted sometimes? She took a step toward him and then another one and another until she was a hairswidth before him. “What would _you_ like to do?”

“Orihime,” he murmured, catching the woman’s mouth with his, Ulquiorra’s tongue pushing into her mouth. “You are so fucking tempting. You can take a shower here. I have something that will fit you. But what I want to do… I want to take you upstairs and have my way with you until you scream out in pleasure. I want to take your body over and over.”

Orihime felt weak and her face flushed. “Yours, remember?” she breathed, her glassy eyes finding his and her fingertips dipping into the waistband of his pants slightly.

Tilting his head, Ulquiorra listened for sounds around the house. He could hear Eriko’s soft snores. He grabbed Orihime’s hand and led her out of the bathroom, down the hall to the couch in the living room. Turning the woman around, he pushed her slightly so she was bent over the back of it. “Right now you’re going to have to be quiet again. Do you think you can do that?”

A soft whine came out before Orihime nodded and answered, “Yes.” She had never done anything like this before. Her blood was racing. The thrill of possibly getting caught, and the confidence with which he was directing the situation made her breathless already.

He had already had his hands hooked into the waistband of her shorts which he yanked down just far enough for her to be exposed to him. What he wouldn’t give to just sink to his knees and bury his face in between her legs. He had to swallow that thought. Right now his cock was aching and he wanted to be inside of her again. Other activities would come later. Another second passed before he had his clothing undone again and was slipping the head of his dick against her flesh.

She gasped. She was still wet from their last encounter less than an hour ago. He was so hot against her. “Ulquiorra,” she whispered. “I love you.” Her lips throbbed as she spoke the words, and as they caressed the tip of his cock. She tipped her toes, pressing against him a bit more.

One hand wound through her hair, the other found her hip after just the tip of him sank into her. He leaned over her back to whisper, “Do you want this Orihime?”

“Yes, please,” she hissed.

He hissed as he thrusted his hips into her, sheathing himself until he felt he could go no further. Ulquiorra closed his eyes and bit his lip to keep from moaning. The same heat from the last two times had engulfed him again.

Orihime shifted her hips, screwing them onto him deeper still. If he could just live inside of her she might be satisfied. She knew she wouldn’t last. He felt too good. His hand in her hair intensified the sensation, making her focus only on what he was doing.

Ulquiorra tried not to fuck her as deep. He didn’t want to have Eriko wake up to the sound of bodies slapping together. It was hard not to. She was so tight around him. She was so wet. “Woman,” he said as he pulled her body against him, burying his cock as deep as it could get.

“Ulquiorra…” she answered in a whispered moan. Her hands curled into a blanket that hung over the top of the sofa as she let her head fall as far as it could against his fist in her hair. She crossed her ankles, clenching her thighs together, and sighed. There. That was the spot. Every move he made was amplified against the increased tightness.

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. This was bad. This was-- “Orihime,” he said in a strained voice. He was going to come and they had just gotten started. He quickened the pace, trying to gauge if that would delay the orgasm building in his body.

Oh my god. It was like a train barrelling down the tracks at her. It started getting harder to stay quiet. She was going to come; it wasn’t going to take long. She bit down hard on her lip and panted through her nostrils.

Shit. That was the exact opposite of prolonging the ending. “Orihime,” Ulquiorra said, releasing the hold that he had on her hair and grabbing her hips tightly. “I’m going to come.”

She could only answer him with a tiny squeak and a nod. Her body answered the rest for him as her walls drank him in and fluttered around his length as she came.

His breath came in ragged pants as he held himself up, trying not to collapse on her. “That’s going to kill me one day,” he said before kissing her neck.

She hummed a small chuckle. “I sure hope not. I rather want to keep you alive,” she said, turning her face to return a small kiss.

He huffed with laughter. “I’m going to go check on Eriko and get you some clothes. I’m sure you’re a mess.”

She laughed then. “I’m sure you’re right. Could you bring me a towel? I’ll just get into the shower now, if you don’t mind. I need to cool down anyway.”

“Follow me,” he said as he started towards the stairs. When they got to the second floor, Ulquiorra showed Orihime where the towels and linens were kept and then went down to his room and pulled out a pair of sweats for her to use. Maybe he’d bring up the subject of her keeping a change of clothes here… or at least underwear… Maybe several pairs.

He was getting ahead of himself. She was just saying those words to satisfy him. He had never really gotten over her. Walking back to the bathroom he knocked on the door. “I have things for you.”

“Thank you,” she said, turning around to take the items from him. She was already completely undressed, and smiled demurely, somehow finding a trace of modest embarrassment.

“The pants might be a little long,” Ulquiorra said, smiling at her. He then grew serious. “I’m going to go check on the girl. Take your time.”

She nodded and leaned forward to kiss his cheek and then blushed again before getting into the shower.

***

Ulquiorra was surprised to see Eriko awake when he walked into her room. She was sitting on her bed, reading a book. “Oh, you’re awake.”

“I’ve been awake.”

“Oh,” Ulquiorra replied. “How are you feeling?”

“Are you going to make babies with Orihime?”

“What?” Ulquiorra’s voice was loud in the small room. 

“Outside you--”

Ulquiorra’s eyes went wide as he listened to his daughter. Was she saying that she saw what happened in the yard? “Eriko!”

“What?” the girl said, looking up at him.

“It’s not what--”

She gave him a look like he was dumb. “Those handy books you gave me… I know what sex is, Dad.”

Of course she did. Maybe he should have screened the books better than just taking a bookstore owner’s word for it. He sighed. “Eriko...”

“What?”

“I love Orihime. You only do things like that with someone you love.”

“I love Kazui but I don’t want to do that with him,” Eriko replied. “Ewww. He’s like a brother to me anyway. I saw what you two were doing and I came back upstairs and took another nap.”

Ulquiorra pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. “Look, what you saw outside was--”

“Dad, stop. Ewww. Anyway, I am feeling better; the things that Orihime gave me worked. The pain is still there but I can live with it.”

It was amazing how mature his daughter was being about this. Most kids her age would probably be flipping their shit over whatever was going on. Eriko seemed to be level-headed about this. “Eri, Kazui cannot know, do you understand?”

She nodded.

***

Ulquiorra was waiting for Orihime in the kitchen. He was mulling over the information that he had just found out. It was troubling. His daughter should have never seen anything like that, but now the cat was out of the bag, he’d pushed the responsibility of telling Eriko things onto Orihime. It wasn’t an adult thing to do, but it was what he could handle at the moment.

Orihime got out of the shower and started getting dressed. Her phone was on the sink counter and she saw that she had a missed call. Kazui had left her a message that he would be arriving at Naruki station in about fifteen minutes. She checked her reflection in the mirror; no hickeys this time, she thought with a relieved smirk, and then came down the stairs, calling out for Ulquiorra in an amplified whisper.

He turned in his seat. “I’m down here,” he replied.

“Hey,” she said, coming up behind him and setting a palm on his shoulder briefly. “Kazui called. He’ll be at the station soon. Do you want me to go get him or do you want to? I ask because Eriko mentioned not wanting to see him.”

“I can go get him. You need to talk to Eriko,” Ulquiorra replied.

“Oh, is she awake?” Orihime asked with a pert smile.

“She saw us.” His expression gave nothing away. He looked calm on the surface.

“Oh,” she answered, the meaning behind his words not dawning on her. “Do you mind if I get myself a glass of water or something? I’m parched.”

A small smirk graced his mouth before he nodded and cleared his throat. “You don’t mind talking to her, do you? I can tell Kazui what our plan is for today while you’re doing that.”

“Alright, no problem,” she said, cheerful and oblivious. “If we’re gone before you get back, don’t worry. I told her I’d take her shopping. My phone is well-charged, though. You don’t mind me kind of swooping in here and taking over, do you?” She said, her brows knitting. It had occurred to her that maybe she was stepping on his toes.

Ulquiorra shook his head. “My home is your home, Woman. You are more than welcome to make a place for yourself,” he said.

She stopped what she was doing and blushed. That was a bold declaration. It made her skin feel hot and buzzy. She returned to where he sat, leaning over and kissing him under his ear. Her arms wrapped around his neck and she gave a brief squeeze, murmuring, “Thank you,” closing her eyes, and pressing the side of her face to his before standing up and backing away.

“Why are you thanking me,” Ulquiorra asked, placing his fingers against his cheek. “What is it?”

She looked down at her feet before answering. “I have an expectation to be, um, alone. It has always been that way for me. I’ve had periods of happiness but in the end, I’m always left behind. So, I don’t know. It just means a lot that you’re making space in your life for me.”

He opened his mouth to tell her the only reason he left her behind in that tower was because he did not want her to be harmed. He didn’t want her to get hurt. Ulquiorra couldn’t tell her that. It would possibly trigger another episode and he wanted to make today go smoothly. “Orihime, I do not let people into my life easily. If I’m doing that, then I plan for you to be beside me for a while. I know this might be sudden but... I’ve remembered you for years.”

If it was possible for her to feel her skin get hotter, she did. She nodded, not really understanding, but knowing what feeling he was trying to convey. “It is a little sudden, for me, I’ll admit,” she answered softly. “But I’m glad to hear you say that.” She took a deep breath and looked up at him. “I guess I’ll go talk to her, now.” 

Giving Orihime a nod, Ulquiorra stood. “I’ll go retrieve Kazui.”

She smiled and nodded at him, then turned to the stairs and went straight up to Eriko’s room and knocked. “Eri-chan, can I come in?”

“Yes,” the girl said in a rather flat voice.

She opened the door and smiled at the girl. “How are you feeling now? Your father said you needed to talk to me.”

Eriko lifted her head and stared at the woman with the funny colored hair. “He probably thinks I need to talk to someone. I don’t know if I do,” she admitted.

“Well, it doesn’t hurt to try,” Orihime said, coming into the room and sitting on the side of Eriko’s bed. “Lay it on me,” she said with a chuckle.

“You and my father had sex.”

Orihime’s life stopped. Her breathing stopped. Her brain stopped. The only part of her that functioned was a tiny, pissed off voice in her head. That voice said, “That fucker. That fucking fucker set me up!” 

She took a breath after that, her eyes trailing off to the side and her brain kicking back into gear. Nope, he had told her, she had just been oblivious. She took a bigger, reassuring breath and looked back at Eriko. Apparently the cat was out of the bag. “That’s true. Do you want to know anything about that? Why? Um… How?” she asked with an awkward quirk of the lips. 

“Are you two having a baby?” Eriko asked, her cheeks turning red. This was private stuff; she knew that, but she wanted to know.

“No, we’re not going to have a baby. There are ways to prevent making a baby during sex,” she answered, leaving the details out of it. She answered as if this was an educational conversation, not the totally, mind-blowingly awkward experience that it was. She may as well satisfy the girl’s curiosity, though. Orihime had been trying to remember how it felt to be eleven years old with questions and how anxious it made her to not know how to ask them. “Is there anything else you want to know?

Eriko gave the woman a scowl. “Are you using him like Yuko did? Are you using him because he’s a foreigner?”

Orihime’s eyes widened. “No! No, not at all. I don’t have a preference for foreigners. My husband was Japanese.”

She frowned. Eriko thought about this for a moment. It made sense. Kazui looked Japanese. The only part of Eriko that looked Japanese was her face. “Okay. you can stay then.”

“That’s it? You don’t have any other questions?” Orihime was unsure. On the one hand, it would be nice and easy if that was it. On the other hand, she didn’t want Eriko jumping to conclusions. “What do you think this means, Eriko?”

What kind of question was that? The girl tilted her head much like her father did and looked at Orihime. “My dad says he loves you and that you only do stuff like that with people you love. So you two must love each other.”

Orihime nodded. “He’s right. Are you sure that’s it, though? I mean, when I was your age…” she trailed off, getting kind of lost her memories. There had been no internet at her house. She didn’t have the kind of books she spied on the girl’s desk. Maybe she would have been able to sate her own thirst for knowledge without a grown up. She wasn’t sure.

“My dad keeps me well informed about things. I can find stuff out without embarrassing anyone. He’s raised me this way,” Eriko said, following the woman’s gaze. “Be respectful to others, don’t make a fuss.”

“Well, sometimes it’s okay to make a fuss if a fuss is warranted. And you don’t have to worry about embarrassing me, Eriko. Your father… Well, _I_ didn’t want you or Kazui to know about our relationship right now because we haven’t known each other for very long. But now that you do know, it’s important that you don’t feel shut out. I want you to feel like you can talk to me about the things you need to talk about. But, there is one thing I ask you to do that may be a bit uncomfortable for a little while,” Orihime said, finding the girl’s eyes and looking into them earnestly.

Eriko nodded. “I know, don’t tell Kazui.”

Orihime nodded, and decided to level with the girl. “I’m just worried he’s going to be angry and feel like we’re trying to erase the memory of his dad. That isn’t what we want to do, but you know Kazui pretty well, Eri-chan. You know how he can react without thinking, right?”

“He’s a hot headed neanderthal at times,” the girl said. “Sometimes he doesn’t see what’s in front of his face.”

“This is an astute observation, Eri,” Orihime said with a melodious laugh. “So, are you about ready to go shopping? Your dad just left to go get Kazui from the station. We can sneak away and head to the drugstore and maybe find a place in Naruki City that sells decent sweets. Not that they’ll be as good as mine, but you know, it’s nice to give other people a chance sometimes, right?” she said, nudging the girl’s shoulder with her own.

“It’ll mess up Dad’s routine, but sure, we can go. I think I need to pee first though and then we can leave. Dad can fend for himself at the grocery store.”

***

Kazui walked out of the train station to see his teacher standing in front of his car. “Oh, Cifer-sensei, did you come to pick me up?” he asked. He didn’t realize how stupid his question sounded.

“Yes, Kazui. Your mother is dealing with Eriko and her problem that erupted.” Ulquiorra sighed. His choice of wording was horrendous.

The boy’s brows knotted, making a face that looked exactly like his mother’s. “Erupted?! Is Eri okay? Does she need to go to the hospital?”

The man shook his head. “She’s fine. It was just a bit of blood. Your mother took care of everything. Are you ready for your lesson?”

“Yeah, but blood?” the boy asked, catching up to Ulquiorra and walking to the passenger seat of the car. “Did she get cut? Did a dog jump the fence and bite her? Was it a werewolf?”

Oh. Kazui didn’t know about what women went through… Granted he wasn’t sure exactly what went on but it was enough to know his daughter had her first period. “Blood. This might be a better question for your mother to answer,” Ulquiorra replied.

The boy scowled, obviously deep in thought, then his face relaxed. “Oh, she got her period? Oh, big deal. My mom gets one all the time,” he said, blowing a breath through closed lips and swatting at the air in front of him like he talked about this kind of thing everyday.

“It’s a big deal when it happens the first time,” Ulquiorra stated. “Come. Let’s get your lesson underway.”

“Yes, sir,” he replied, quickly getting into the car.

Ulquiorra was silent as he drove back to the house. Normally he would have walked to the station and back but it didn’t seem fair to make the kid walk all that way and then train for two hours. “So, do you think you can stand still for ten minutes today?”

“I bet I can!” the boy said. He wasn’t one to back down from a challenge. “What’s the longest you’ve stood still?”

Green eyes slid in Kazui’s direction. “Several hours. I used to stand around for days.”

The boys eyes grew huge. “No way! Were you some kind of super strong kendo dude?”

“Something like that,” he said. “I fought your dad twice.”

“You knew my dad?! Wow! Were you guys friends?”

Ulquiorra shook his head. “Friends do not fight, Kazui. No, I did not like your dad and he did not like me.”

The boy was confused. His dad didn’t talk about people he didn’t like very much, so he had always assumed that his father liked most people. Also, if his dad didn’t like his teacher, why did his mom seem to like him? “Why didn’t you like each other?” he finally asked, unable to quiet his curiosity.

The man’s brow furrowed and he squinted as he drove. “We wanted different things. We were on opposite sides of the war.”

“Wait, you’re not human?” the boy was getting psyched. If his teacher was a shinigami or something like that, maybe his mother would let him use his zanpakuto!

“What gives you that idea?” Ulquiorra asked carefully.

Kazui paused. “You’re not a Quincy, are you?” he asked, withering with disappointment at the idea. “My Uncle Uryu is a Quincy and he is _so boring_.” The boy was emphatic with his speech.

“I am an Espada… former Espada. I am what is known as an Arrancar.”

The boy blew out a relieved breath and then went quiet, searching his memory for the terms Ulquiorra had used to describe himself. “Is that like… No, wait, you said you were on opposite sides of a war. There was only the two wars I heard them talk about. No, wait, there was that gang that Riruka was part of. So you are some kind of Fullbringer? Or did you work for that Aizen guy?”

Ulquiorra raised a brow at the kid. “Aizen. I was a bad guy. I think I died, but I woke up and left Hueco Mundo.”

“Whoa…” the boy’s mind was obviously blown at this news. He was quiet for a long few minutes, then finally asked, “So, were you some kind of hollow? Like my Uncle Sora? Or were you like the ones like Ichika told me about… the ones who are like Vizards?”

“I am a hollow.” Ulquiorra’s face was blank as he spoke. Now that he finally said those words, he wasn’t sure how he felt.

Kazui blew out a long raspberry and then laughed. “No you’re not! _I’m_ a shinigami, so I would know if you were a hollow,” he said, continuing to laugh, and not realizing that he had said what he was forbidden to say.

“My gigai conceals that fact. If I were to be released from it… my reiatsu would kill people,” he stated. “I assure you, I am a hollow. I had a mask fragment. I had a hollow hole. I’ve been a human for a long time, though.”

“Weirrrrrrrrrrrrrd,” Kazui commented, looking out the window, thinking some more. “So, if you have a gigai, you know old man hat’n’clogs. You know my grandpa. My grandpa knows Eri. My grandpa was a shinigami captain and so was Urahara, y’know,” he said, kind of bragging, kind of digging for more information, kind of rationalizing how all this conflicting information could work in his world.

Ulquiorra shook his head. He had revealed too much to the boy already. “Enough talk,” he replied as he turned into the driveway. The car stopped in front of the house and Orihime’s van was gone. “You know where your uniform is. Change and then meet me in the yard.”

“Yes sir!” the boy barked, getting out of the car and running to get the uniform.


	16. Chapter 16

Orihime had told Eri that she was wearing her father’s clothing because hers had become dirty while cleaning… and grass-stained while “lying” in the yard. Eriko had given her an unimpressed look but said nothing. So after doing the girl’s shopping, they went back into Karakura to Orihime’s house for her to change her clothes. She also put an overnight bag together and a couple changes of clothes that she might leave over there… just in case. She told Eriko that the bag contained the clothes her father had lent to her and a change of clothes for Kazui, then distracted the girl by proposing they go do purikura.

There was an arcade near the grocery store just inside of Naruki City, and the redhead pulled into the parking lot and got out, taking the girl by the elbow and going into the obnoxiously loud, colorful space.

“Have you ever done purikura before, Eri?”

“No, my father has a weird thing about photographs.”

“What do you mean?”

Eriko rolled her eyes. “He thinks he won’t show up on film so he never wants to do things like that.”

Orihime rolled her eyes around in two full rotations. “What, does he think he’s some kind of vampire? That’s silly.” Orihime laughed and led the girl to an area that was filled with several photobooths. “Is there any one you want to try?”

“I don’t know,” she said. Eriko then shook her head. “You pick one.”

Orihime smiled and nodded, pulling Eriko past the newer, shinier ones and toward the back, to a much older, dingy looking set-up. “This here is the way to go. Not as expensive, not a high quality, but it doesn’t have the filters that make you look like some kind of alien anime character.” She pushed the girl inside and started using the provided stylus on the large touch screen menu. “Do you want a beach background? Galaxy? Winter? Cityscape? Ninja?” Orihime asked as she scrolled through options and a green screen dropped behind them.

“Oooh! The winter one looks creepy,” Eriko said pointing to the scene with the white ground and dark sky. There was one lonely skeletal looking tree. “I don’t like that one. The galaxy one looks pretty.”

Orihime spared a glance at the girl. She was right; the winterscape looked uncannily like her father’s homeland. “Galaxy it is, then!” she said with a smile, selecting that one and a four-pose package. “Okay, we’ll get a countdown and then we have to pose. I say we blow a kiss for the first one, okay?”

Eriko nodded and did as instructed. She felt silly, but Orihime was trying to keep her attention from the fact that she was having a bad day.

The flashbulb went off. “You pick the next pose, Eri!” Orihime called out with a peal of giggles as the screen counted down from ten.

Per usual, Eriko held to fingers up in a peace sign just as the camera went off. This was fun. “This is ridiculous but awesome.”

“Right?!” Orihime agreed. She wasn’t putting on a show for the girl, either. It had been a long time since she had done something like this and she was genuinely enjoying herself. “Let’s do serious, pondering faces, next,” she said, standing up straight, back to back with the girl, her thumb and forefinger framing her chin thoughtfully, looking down the camera lens with an arched brow. 

Eriko pulled her face into a serious look that could rival her father’s. She couldn’t resist giggling after the picture was snapped. “How many pictures do we get?”

“One more, you can pick the pose!”

“Let’s blow raspberries or stick out our tongues!”

Orihime bent down a bit, pressing the side of her cheek into Eriko’s and stuck her tongue out as the flash went off. “Oh! That was fun. Let’s decorate them. I’m going to text your dad and ask him if he wants us to go to the grocery store for him since it’s next door,” she said, passing the stylus to Eri and showing her the options to put digital stickers on or how to write with glittery and glowing script.

Eriko looked over the options, only picking a couple for the photo with them sticking their tongues out. She had a monocle on Orihime and a fancy mustache on her own face. The girl laughed. “I like this one.”

Orihime glanced over and laughed. “That’s hilarious!”

“You should let Dad do his thing. He’s gets agitated when he can’t do his routine,” Eriko said as she scrolled through more options to decorate the other photos.

Orihime hummed, appreciating the girl’s concern for her father. “That may be true, but grown ups have to be accommodating from time to time. I’m sure he can handle it. Plus, he’s having us over as company today, so I think he expects a bit of a shake up. If he prefers to do it himself, he’ll let me know,” she said. She didn’t mean to put on the mom hat, but she had anyway. She sent the message out to Ulquiorra.

_ \- Right next door to the grocery store. Want us to pick anything up? _

The man in question was currently holding a bokken out towards Kazui and circling around the child. Somehow the idiot kid had challenged him and he took the bait. So far they had been sizing each other up. Ulquiorra really wanted to see what the son of a Shinigami could do. “Well, are you going--”

Bzzt! Bzzt!

“Weapon down, Kazui. Your mother texted.”

The boy groaned. “Mom!” A long, dramatic sigh followed as the boy lowered his bokken.

Ulquiorra took his phone out of his pocket and looked at the message.

_ -Maybe something for lunch and dinner? I’m not sure. I always go shopping on Saturday. Is Eriko behaving? _

Orihime smiled. “He’s fine, you can stop worrying,” she said to the girl as she typed out a reply.

\-  _ She’s perfect. She’s worried about you though, whoa. She interrogated me about my intentions toward you, lol. Anyway, send me a list of what you think you need and we’ll pick it up. I’ll take care of lunch and dinner. _

There wasn’t any way he was going to send her that list. He would just go to the store a different day. 

_ -It’s fine. Really. I’ll get the stuff a different day. Why is she worrying? Um, Kazui figured things out. _

“Excuse me a minute, Eriko. I have to-- Don’t talk to strangers and stay right here,” she said, stepping away from the girl. Her face fell.

_ \- Shit, are you serious? Is he freaking out? You didn’t tell him we’re having sex, right? _

Ulquiorra’s nose scrunched up as he read the message. Where in the world had she gotten that?

_ \- No, he knows I’m not exactly human. _

Well, that was different. Probably better, she hoped.

_ \- Pfew. Don’t scare me like that! Was he totally excited? He usually is… Anyway I’ll tell you what Eri said when I get back and we’re alone. It was cute. And a little scary. She takes after you, LOL <3 _

His lips twitched at her response. 

_ -Totally excited. Wants to fight me with his Zanpaktou. She is my daughter. She should take after me. Kazui takes after Ichigo when he has a bokken in his hand. _

Orihime smirked. 

_ \- Good. So you know what to expect. _

She sent the message before she realized what she said. What did she mean… Oh. OH. Oh no. “Eriko… Eriko!”

Eriko was looking at another machine when she heard Orihime. She turned around and looked at the woman. “What?”

“Just hold my hand, sweetie. Take me back to our machine. Did you get the print-out? Were you able to email a copy?” Orihime’s hands were trembling. She was trying not to fall into the black hole her mind was tugging her toward.

“I had them sent to my phone,” Eriko said with a slight frown. “Why are you being spastic? You’re totally freaking out.”

The left side of her lips twitched up and she faked a chuckle. “Kazui says I’m ‘glitching’. I, um, don’t remember some things from when I was a little older than you, but once in awhile I remember something and it… um… Ah,” Orihime winced and clutched at her head. “It just gives me a bit of a headache sometimes. I need to sit down. We need ice cream and then I’ll feel better.” Orihime passed Eriko her purse. “There is a Seventeen Ice machine over by the service counter. Get yourself one and if there is mint chocolate chip, I’ll have that,” she said, sliding down the side of the machine until she sat on the floor.

“Are you okay? I mean not just on the surface but are you really okay?”

Orihime looked up at the girl with a pained expression. “I don’t know, honey. I’ll be okay in just a minute, though.”

“You should talk to someone.” Eriko turned and walked away going over to the vending machine that Orihime had indicated. She inserted the money and make her selection, coming back to the redhead with two mint chocolate chip cones. “We should call my dad.”

“Let’s just wait a minute,” she said, already starting to relax. She took her ice cream and opened it, taking a bite and letting the flavor melt onto her tongue. “I think it’s getting better. Maybe I should talk to someone, though. I can talk to you a bit, if you don’t mind. Did your dad tell you he used to know me before he met Yuko?”

Eriko shook her head. Her dad didn’t talk about the time before Yuko or after. It seemed like the man’s life started when she was born. “He just said he knew you. He’s known you for a long time.”

Orihime nodded. “That’s what he told me, too. The problem is, I don’t remember it. But, I don’t think he’s lying to me. I really think he means it. He knows everyone else I know, too, so it makes sense. I just… sometimes he says something or makes a certain face and I feel like I can almost remember. Then my brain stops me. Do you ever forget what you went into a room for right after you go in there? It’s like that. But a lot more intense.”

Eriko nodded. She had felt like that loads of times. “Maybe you should ask my dad about something no one else would know. Like a test.”

Orihime stopped mid lick and looked at the girl. “That’s a really good idea, Eriko. I’m glad I talked to you.” She gave her a smile and went back to the ice cream, feeling a bit better.

The girl smiled at Orihime before she ate her ice cream. “I’ve eaten so much junk today,” she said after she was done.

Orihime finished her ice cream and nodded. “Right, let’s go shopping. We’re going to get something for lunch and dinner. Let’s get some healthy stuff.” She stood up then and led the way to a wastebasket, tossing her ice cream trash inside. “Oh, can I see the pictures?” she asked, remembering why they were there.

“Sure,” Eriko said and pulled her phone from her pocket. Opening the first text message, she tapped on the photo and then gave it to Orihime. “All of them look good.”

Orihime laughed and sent the link to herself. “These are adorable. I’m sending this to your father. I’m sure he will be totally bewildered.”

“Ha! He might call you and ask what you’ve done to me,” Eriko joked. “And ewww healthy stuff. Pizza.”

“Healthy pizza, okay?” she said, tapping out a message to Ulquiorra.

_ \- Healthy pizza is on the menu today. Also, I’m sorry in advance, LOL. _

She sent the link.

Ulquiorra had blocked every swing and jab that Kazui had thrown at him with only one hand. He called for another halt as his phone buzzed again. “Go get some water, you’re sweating,” he told Kazui before looking at the text message.

What the hell?

_ -WHAT HAPPENED TO MY CHILD? Also pizza? How is pizza healthy? _

_ \- You’ll see. And she, no, WE, are adorable. Those kisses we’re blowing are for you. <3 _

_ -Why does my child have facial hair? We’re just eating pizza today or did you have another form of sustenance for us? _

_ \- Just trust me. _

Orihime took Eriko to the grocery store and they loaded up on vegetables, whole wheat flour, some cheese and some minced chicken. They also got fixings for a salad and then Orihime looked at the girl and asked, “What do you want to have for lunch? The pizza is going to take some time so I think we should have it for dinner. We could do a noodle dish or we could buy some onigiri and have some grilled fish from the deli so we can eat right away? What are you in the mood for?”

“ONIGIRI!” the girl said, excited. Her dad rarely bought the packaged rice balls. “Yes! Grilled fish and onigiri please! We have some left over rice from last night so Kazui can eat that too.”

Orihime grinned and let the girl take the shopping cart from her. “Go ahead and pick out a bunch of onigiri that you think people would like. I like pickled plum and Kazui likes tuna mayonnaise. I’m going to go pick out a bottle of wine as a thank you gift for your father. He’s not letting me pay for Kazui’s lessons,” she said as an excuse. She just wanted to make sure Ulquiorra’s sleepover plan was a success.

Eriko took the woman’s advice and picked out three for each person. She figured that if someone had problem, they could trade for another one. It would be like lunch at school. She had seen kids trade bentos. This grocery shopping for other people when there was no list to follow was hard. Her father always had a list with the exact amounts of each food or ingredient to purchase. A sigh left her and she wondered if Orihime used a list.

Orihime picked out a bottle of wine that she thought would pair well with the pizza recipe she had in mind and then walked out to where Eriko was. “All set? Got all the onigiri? I was thinking grilled saury for lunch. Everybody likes that, right?”

The girl looked at Orihime and nodded. “Sure, I got an assortment but I’m not sure if--I don’t know how to grocery shop without a list.”

Orihime looked into the cart and smiled at the girl. “Looks like you’re doing just fine to me. It’s a bit much, but you’ve seen Kazui eat. I’m almost as bad as him!” she said, winking at the girl. She took the cart and grabbed the fish and then went to the registers. “We have one more stop after this; there is a home goods store just down the street. We’re getting a pizza stone.”

“Why would you put stones on pizza?”

Orihime laughed. “You don’t; you cook the pizza on a stone sheet. It makes it cook nicely and quickly so that the top doesn’t get burned and the dough cooks all the way through.”

Understanding bloomed on Eriko’s face and she nodded. “We never have pizza because I showed my dad what an American pizza was like and I wanted to try one. He said it was a mess and that we couldn’t have stuff like that. He’s weird sometimes.”

“Agree,” she said with a giggle.

***

“I yield, Cifer-sensei!” Kazui was exhausted. He was an athletic kid, but holding a bokken in a human body was a lot different than holding a zanpakuto. He was wiped out.

Ulquiorra snorted and then raised an eyebrow at the kid. “Do you?” he asked. “You haven’t even hit me once.”

The boy scoffed. “If my  _ mother _ would ever let me have any fun with my zanpakuto, I might have a chance.” He said the word, mother, as if it was somewhat derogatory.

“Your mother is protecting you from Hollows,” Ulquiorra replied, giving the boy a stern look. “She almost died fighting hollows. She knows what she is doing.”

“But I could protect myself if she let me train! I could protect her and Eri!”

Shaking his head, Ulquiorra walked over to where the boy stood and snatched the bokken from his hands. “False bravery. That’s what almost killed your mother. She thought she could take on Arrancars because she wanted to protect people. Your father almost did the same stupid move. Think before you act.”

“A lot of good thinking does when a hollow is about to swallow you up. I need to be able to fight!” the boy whined. “I will win because I have to win!”

This kid was just like his father. What would happen if something happened to Eriko and she was kidnapped by some conniving hollows? Would Kazui disregard rules just to save his friend? “Stand up and stretch then you can do some laps around the property until your mom gets home… I mean here.”

The boy groaned and did as he was told. He was on his fifth lap around the property when the Halcyon van rolled up the driveway, and when he got back to the front of the house, he collapsed on the walkway, panting dramatically.

“So, Cifer-sensei put you through your paces today, did he, Monkey?”

A whined groan was her answer. 

Orihime chuckled as she loaded her arms full of bags and stepped over her son’s body on the way into the house. “I stopped at home and brought you a sweatshirt in case it gets chilly later, we’re staying for dinner.”

“Huh?” the kid said, following his mother with his eye. If he wasn’t mistaken, she was walking kind of funny. She was acting happier than usual. Whatever.

“We have food for lunch, son,” Orihime said before disappearing inside.

The boy was up in a flash and crowding his mother. “What did you get? What did you get?! I’m starving!”

“Ask your friend, Kazui.”

“What did you get, Eri?” Kazui asked her as she came inside. Kazui’s hair was matted down around his ears from sweat.

The girl looked at Kazui and wrinkled her nose. “You’re a mess. What did you do to my dad to make him demand you run laps?”

“That is none of your business, Eriko,” Ulquiorra replied, coming behind her. He had finished putting away the bokken and other stuff they hadn’t gotten around to using. “What is for lunch? Did you two buy pizza?”

“Nope. We got something better.”

“Kazui, I love you, but you stink. Please go clean up and get changed for lunch while we set everything up, right, Cifer-sensei?” the boy’s mother asked.

“Kazui, do as your mother tells you. Eriko, tell me what you two purchased for lunch.”

“You’re a spoilsport, Dad. We got onigiri and grilled fish!”

“Yes!” Kazui said, skedaddling toward the bathroom.

Orihime chuckled as she started unpacking the bags. “Oh, Ulquiorra, I got you something,” she said, pulling the bottle of wine from a paper bag..

The man gave the woman a suggestive look and walked over to where she stood with the bottle. “Nice, does this go well with rice balls and fish or pizza?”

“Pizza,” she said with a smirk. “I promised healthy pizza, which takes time. By the time it’s ready, it will be an appropriate wine hour. Oh! Also, I have a bag with the clothes that you lent me in the backseat of the van, behind the driver’s seat, if you wouldn’t mind getting it and putting it in your room...” she winked at him after she was sure Eriko wasn’t looking. There was a bunch of her own clothing in it as well that she meant to leave there.

“Very well, Woman. Anything else I can grab or do?”

She bit her lip, looking him up and down. “I can think of some things. But for now, just the bag,” she said in a soft, feminine tone.

It was Eriko who sighed in a disgusted manner. “Just because I’m not looking, doesn’t mean I’m deaf. I’m going to go fix my problem and be in my room.”

It made Ulquiorra laugh silently to himself as she stomped up the stairs. He never knew what to expect with his human child. She was an odd one. “I’ll be right back, Woman.”

Orihime giggled, slightly self-conscious. Oh well, she thought. Eriko may as well get used to it now. She didn’t think the attraction she felt for her father was going to fade anytime soon.

Ulquiorra left the house and went out to the van. He saw the bag and retrieved it from where it sat. Saying nothing as he reentered the home, he walked the bag upstairs and put it on the bed. Curiosity was eating away at him. Should he see what was in the bag or just leave it? He decided to leave it and go back downstairs.

“So? What do you think?” Orihime asked, a bit nervous about his reaction. It was a bit presumptuous of her, but he had said his home was her home.

“What do I think concerning what?”

“The contents of the bag, silly.”

Oh. He was supposed to look inside of it. “I did not want to invade your privacy. Do you want me to go back upstairs and look?”

She chuckled. “It’s just some of my things, in case we have any repeat sleepovers,” she said quietly. “Where do you keep your mixing bowls?”

His eyes went wide as he looked at Orihime. Was she some kind of mind reader? “I was going to suggest you do something like that but… I was afraid of being rejected.” Ulquiorra walked over to the tall cabinet where he kept things he rarely used. “You really need to learn your way around my home, Woman.”

She laughed. “I wouldn’t reject you, Ulquiorra. Even if I tried, I could never succeed.” She waited for him to bring her the bowl as she spread out the lunch food on the dining table, grabbing some chopsticks from a drawer she had correctly guessed contained them, and set them beside each seat, and cut up some cucumbers and tomatoes onto a plate that she had also correctly guessed the location of. “So, you don’t think it was too forward of me?” she finally asked.

“No; like I said, I want you here, Orihime. I want Kazui here, too, although he’s a baiting little shit at times,” Ulquiorra stated. He looked closely at the redhead. “Why would you think it’s too forward?”

Her mouth had fallen open at the language he had chosen to use referencing her son, and it took her a moment to recover from the shock. “Uh, um… it just seems unladylike, I guess,” she said, turning her face away from him as her brows knit together. She didn’t like what he had said.

“What?”

“Nothing,” she said in a flat tone. She was having second thoughts about this sleepover now, though. She didn’t know if she wanted Kazui staying here.

Ulquiorra sighed. “I call Eriko the same thing at times. I do not like it when children taunt me. He thinks the same way your husband did. Let’s enter a fight without formulating a strategy. If you find offense with that, then I’m sorry. I do not mince words, nor do I lie.”

She said nothing, pursing her lips and keeping her hands busy. Her Mama Bear rankles had been raised. They didn’t go down easily. Orihime seemed to be sweetness and light but she was formidable when she felt her loved ones were being threatened.

He was trying not to become irritated or frustrated with this situation. It was rather new for him to open his home to anyone. Maybe he shouldn’t have called the kid a little shit, but he was; Kazui was hard-headed and stubborn. He gave a nod, seeming to come to a decision. “I’ll be upstairs for a moment.”

“Fine,” was all she said. She still couldn’t look at him at that moment. She was afraid she might say something she couldn’t take back.

She listened to him go up the stairs and sighed. She needed to think this through. What was it about it that bothered her? It wasn’t the criticism; that was valid. She knew that he was right about both Kazui and Ichigo in that each of them had a tendency to leap before they looked. They also both had a sometimes cocky streak. Still… Was it just the disrespectful language?

Probably.

She would never say that about someone. Ichigo would never-- maybe he would, but surely not about his own son. Then again, when he passed away Kazui was still a sweet, cute little boy with minimal attitude, not the headstrong preteen he was now. She sighed. Maybe she was overreacting.

As Ulquiorra walked to his bedroom, he thought about it. He could get angry if anyone said a harsh word about his daughter unless it was a valid point. Eriko could be a brat. Eriko was a child. He sighed as he sat down on his bed beside that bag. Maybe this entire thing was a mistake. Was he ready to take things this far? He’d never been a relationship type person. Hell, he avoided most social interactions unless required. This wasn’t fair to any of them. As soon as Orihime realized who he was, she would be gone.

Kazui got out of the shower and trotted back into the kitchen before anyone else arrived. “Where is everybody?” he asked his mother before plopping down at the table and staring down the food with hungry eyes.

“I don’t know,” she replied with another sigh. “If you want to take a tuna mayonnaise onigiri, go ahead. At least one is for you.”

She smiled at her son as he grabbed it and started gobbling. 

Eriko heard Kazui so she left her room and went downstairs. She looked around for her father. He wasn’t in the room. She gave Orihime a questioning look as she walked to the table. “Is it time to eat?” the girl asked.

“Yes, go ahead,” she said, deciding it was unfair to make two hungry kids wait for their parents to get over themselves. She did not eat, though.

Fifteen minutes passed. He could hear the kids talking downstairs. Ulquiorra took his phone out of his pocket. It would be best just to text her.

_ -You are angry with me. I can tell. I will not apologize for saying that about Kazui. All children are like that. You were like that. Your husband was like that. If you wish to go home tonight, I will understand. I’m doing nothing but making you unhappy everytime I turn around. _

Orihime was surprised to hear her phone chime, and picked it up off the counter, walking back into the kitchen to read it. She scowled in confusion before replying.

_ \- I am not angry. I was shocked at your language, but not at the sentiment. You don’t make me unhappy; I don’t know where you get that idea. But if you’d rather we leave I can start the pizza dough and then leave instructions with Eri. LMK _

Ulquiorra sighed as his phone buzzed. His mouth drew into a thin line as he read the message. “Orihime! Could you please come up here and help me?” Ulquiorra called out.

She nearly jumped. She looked over to the kids, not bothering to hide her surprise or worry, and said, “I better go make sure everything is okay,” before going up the stairs. She knocked on his door and waited.

He had expected her to just walk in so he was confused when the knock came. “Come in,” he said from where he sat. When she walked in, Ulquiorra just looked at Orihime.

She closed the door behind her after a moment and leaned against it. “Everything okay?” she asked after several moments of silence.

“No, and you know it’s not. I don’t want you to leave. I want you to stay here,” he said.

“I want to stay. Just because we have a disagreement doesn’t mean you make me unhappy,” she murmured. “It’s inevitable that we won’t always see eye to eye.”

Ulquiorra gave her a glance before nodding. He wiped his hands on his shorts and then stood up, walking over to where Orihime stood. “Good. Um, I’m going to clean out a drawer in my dresser for you to put your things,” he murmured, his fingers touching her neck.

Wow, that was a quick tonal shift, she thought, a small smile appearing on her lips. “Um, thanks. It’s not much, just a couple things.”

“I’m sorry for the language I used, Woman. I’m used to speaking my mind.”

She nodded. “We have different backgrounds. There’s going to be a bit of a learning curve, I guess. I’m sure you’ll come to find things about me that drive you crazy, in time.”

“Heh, there’s already stuff about you that drives me crazy,” Ulquiorra said. He took a deep breath and looked up as he exhaled, trying to keep his composure. “Top drawer, right side is mostly empty. Please use that if you’d like.”

“Are you alright?” Orihime asked in a tiny voice. He looked emotional.

“I’m fine, Orihime. Just trying to keep from having my way with you again.” Ulquiorra’s mouth tilted up slightly. “I need to learn restraint.”

She chuckled. “Same, my dear. Same. Go down and eat before the kids take it all. I’ll take care of my things and be right down. Save me a pickled plum onigiri,” she said and pecked his lips before going to her bag.

“Yes, Woman. I will do that. See you in a few minutes.”

Orihime smiled at him as he left the room, and then her face relaxed into an expression of mild concern. She and Ulquiorra were clearly jumping into this headfirst, and despite her insistence that they keep their relationship from the kids, they were figuring it out much faster than she had anticipated. This disagreement only proved what she already knew would happen; that there would be some rocky times between them, especially as they tried to get to know one another and mesh their opposing personalities. She hoped to shield the children from that as much as possible.

On top of that… She didn’t actually know him that well. She knew there was a crazy amount of chemistry; that much was obvious. She enjoyed his company and she respected him and loved how he was with the kids for the most part. But why did she feel so sure in the idea that she  _ loved _ him? It seemed premature. It seemed crazy. 

And yet, here she was, unpacking underwear and a few outfits into his dresser. After she was done, she sat on his bed for a moment.

He had to be telling the truth. There had to be some history between them that she couldn’t recall. Maybe she would ask Uryu to help her recover her memories. Maybe she would feel better if she knew.

She took a deep breath and smiled. This would work. The secrets locked inside her mind would explain everything, she convinced herself as she got up and went down to join the others.


	17. Chapter 17

The night of the sleepover went surprisingly well. Orihime was a good cook in Ulquiorra’s eyes, though he remembered some of the stuff she cooked while he had stalked her as an Espada. It made him cringe when he thought back to that month when he had watched her every move. Well… Almost every move. He wasn’t a creep. 

Eriko and Kazui got to watch television until they both passed out on the couch, and after that Ulquiorra took Orihime upstairs where they made love in his bed several times. The next morning, the kids didn’t seemed fazed that they both came downstairs at the same time.

“Where did--” Eriko started to ask.

“Since you fell asleep on the couch, I had Orihime sleep in your bed.” He was quick to interrupt his daughter.

Now it was two weeks later and Ulquiorra was still madly in love with the redhead. He called or texted her every day. He would stop by the cafe when he could, stealing bits of her time and kisses. Eriko didn’t mind because she got sweets or played with Kazui.

He knew he was playing with fire, banking everything on this woman without thinking about the situation logically. Love made you stupid. Love made you forget everything else.

Ulquiorra knew this. He experienced this as an Espada in his final moments, using up the last of his strength to save her. Perhaps it was time to go talk to Urahara again and see if he could talk to this Mayuri, or see if he could send a message to the guy named Tsukishima that Orihime mentioned.

***

Orihime was feeling herself fall deeper and deeper for Ulquiorra. When they were separated, she thought of him constantly. When they were together, she felt cushioned by a warm squishy cloud of affection and lust. It was brilliant.

It was also terrifying.

On this day, a Thursday, Ulquiorra had texted her to tell her he was working late and would be taking Eriko home and then returning to work to watch over kids practicing for a student assembly the following day. She was equally disappointed and relieved. After she got that message, she pulled Riruka aside.

“Hey, um, Riruka, do you want to hang out after work tonight?”

The other Fullbringer looked at her like like she had grown a second head. “What?”

“Come hang out. With me. After close. Upstairs,” Orihime replied slowly, over-enunciating each word.

Riruka sighed. “Fine,” she tsked and walked away.

After close, Orihime turned out the lights in the cafe and took Riruka up to her place, grabbing a bottle of wine that she and Ulquiorra had barely touched the night before and a couple of glasses before dragging her business partner up to the roof.

“Okay, so, you’re probably wondering why I asked you to come up here,” Orihime started as she poured a glass for each of them.

“Let me guess… It’s about that freak you’re mooning over,” Riruka said as she picked up her glass.

Orihime looked over the rim of her glass at Riruka sharply, swallowed her sip and countered, “First of all, not a freak. Second, yes. Kind of. I just need someone to talk to. I… I don’t know why but I am really head over heels for this guy and it’s kind of scary.”

The pink-haired woman sniffed in disapproval. “Did you feel this way with Ichigo? Why would you even look at anyone else? Wasn’t he like the love of your life?”

Orihime closed her eyes, a pinched expression appearing on her brow as she took another sip. “Yes. Well, yes and no. I had known Ichigo for years. I had time to get to know him from a distance and then as a friend and then as a comrade. I had time to develop a huge crush on him and to agonize about whether or not he liked me back, and when he finally did, it was like everything just snapped into place and I felt relieved and happy. But this… With Ulquiorra, it’s totally different. This came on kind of like a storm out of nowhere. There was no questioning it; it was, ‘Oh, my son’s teacher is hot but he hates me’ one week and the next we were making out up here.”

“Ewww," Riruka said, looking around. “I hope you disinfected things after you were done. So what you are saying is that you didn’t feel like this with Ichigo, it just came about that you two “loved” each other?”

“No, no,” she said, scrunching up her nose. “Ichigo and I were each other’s first everything. We were kind of innocent and awkward and… I don’t know. I mean, being  _ with _ him was great, eventually. I wouldn’t have changed it, it was sweet and…” Orihime trailed off, starting to feel like she was revealing too much and blushing. “But anyway, this thing with Ulquiorra is not innocent or awkward. It’s like, we both know what we want and need and he just, uh... gives it to me.” Orihime couldn’t stand herself right now. How was she even talking about this out loud? Her face felt like it was on fire and she had to turn around as she drained the contents of her glass and refilled it.

A scoff came from the other woman. “It was great eventually? Do you hear yourself? It was like being with him was out of convenience. Like you two were just lopped in with each other.”

Orihime put a hand on her hip and turned on the other woman. “Come on. You were a virgin once. You know how it is; people aren’t great at it right away. It took some time to work the kinks out. He was self-conscious. He had a lot of hang-ups. I was okay with it and after a couple months it was fine and we got good at it. It wasn’t convenience, and I resent the insinuation, Riruka. I loved my husband. It was just that…” Orihime sighed. “It’s just that I don’t know how to frame this new relationship in contrast with that one. Ulquiorra says he loves me.”

She had taken a mouthful of wine and Riruka had to turn her head away from Orihime as she spit it out, coughing. “He what? Of course I was a virgin once, but Ginjo’s dead and wasn’t the nicest person to be with like that. You know...” she trailed off as she tilted her head and thought about it. “Nah, never mind that’s a bad idea.”

Orihime’s brows rose marginally at Riruka’s admission but then her expression became more intense. “No, you tell me. I probably need to hear someone else’s thoughts, no matter how…” she trailed off, she didn’t want to say that she thought Riruka’s ideas were usually stupid out loud.

“Go see Tsukishima and have him erase your memories of Ichigo.”

Okay. Yeah. She was stupid. “Uh, no. That’s my son’s father you’re talking about. Besides, Tsukishima can’t do anything like that, can he?”

“Duh, do you not remember the whole Ginjo betrayed Ichigo thing? Do you not remember Ichigo taking him on? Or how you had a mental breakdown after you found out--” Riruka watched Orihime’s face as she spoke. Maybe saying this stuff was a bad idea. “Maybe you need to go to the Soul Society and find Ichigo and rekindle your marriage or something.”

Orihime sat down. There were a lot of thoughts swirling around in her head at the moment. “No, Riruka, do you understand how a konso works? He most likely has no memory of me or Kazui. Besides, I’m alive. He’s dead. It’s been two years. Both Kazui and I have been grieving for him but we both deserve a chance to heal and move on.” Orihime sighed and looked up at the other woman, looking for -hoping for- a bit of understanding.

“You should have given Ichigo a chance. You could have reversed his death. I would have if I were you.”

That hurt. Her sinuses started to tingle and she blinked away tears. “Don’t you think I would have if I could have? It was Soul Society’s decision to do the konso. I wasn’t given a chance to say goodbye,” Orihime choked and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand as she remembered the pain and betrayal she felt the night of Ichigo’s death. “Rukia did the konso before I was told that he had died. It was too late. His soul had passed. I could have repaired his body but that would have been all that was there.” 

Orihime sniffled and took another drink. She realized that this is why she wanted to talk to Riruka. She needed to have this argument. She needed to get all this out there, and she needed someone to contradict and challenge her and make her justify her actions, otherwise Orihime would never be able to move past them. Because even though Orihime believed that there had been nothing she could have done differently, there was still always a little voice in the back of her mind casting doubt. Riruka’s doubts were the same as the ones she suspected other people had about her. Orihime felt that if she could convince the Fullbringer that moving on to a new man was acceptable, then there was a chance that Ishida, the Kurosaki family, and Kazui might understand.

“But why this guy? Why not Four Eyes who has been mooning over you since you were a teenager?” Riruka asked, her tone annoyed. She wasn’t even paying attention to Orihime.

Orihime rolled her eyes. It was almost compulsory when talking to this woman. “Because, he’s from my past. I want a fresh start. I mean, I guess Ulquiorra is from my past too, but it’s not the same. He’s not part of the ‘Karakura Gang’, so to speak. There is just too much shared history with Ishida-kun and Ichigo. It would feel like Ichigo’s ghost would be a third wheel or something. Plus, it isn’t as easy or as natural with him. With Ulquiorra, things just fall into place. It feels right. I… I told him I loved him, too.” She squinted a bit with this admission, expecting a backlash.

Riruka’s head snapped to the side so fast that she thought she broke her neck. “YOU DID WHAT?” the pink-haired woman asked. “Oh my god, Orihime! How desperate are you? You told a complete stranger you loved him? Is his dick made of gold or something?”

Orihime whined, “I know, I know, it seems really fast, but Riruka, I know what's in my heart. Besides, I’m not getting any younger. I’m experienced now; I know what I want and what I like. And I feel like… I feel like I  _ know _ him, even though I don’t…” She sighed. This is the part she was struggling with. When she was with Ulquiorra it felt like the facts and timeline didn’t matter, but when they were apart, reality crept in. “I don’t know,” she whined again, “I know how I feel, I just don’t know why I feel it. He told me we had a thing when I was in Hueco Mundo. I don’t remember it though. He said he was an Espada.”

The other woman’s mouth dropped open. She stared at her business partner. “You’re fucking a Hollow? I can’t even… Orihime! Think about this. Would you do this if Ichigo was still alive? Would you put his son in danger by allowing him to be around a Hollow? What if this freak decides to eat your son?”

Orihime scoffed. “Well, one, I wouldn’t if Ichigo were still alive because I would be  _ MARRIED TO ICHIGO _ . Two, he’s not exactly a hollow anymore. His actual spiritual status is a bit of a mystery. But he’s been living as a human for about sixteen years. He has a human daughter, for goodness’ sake. He’s not going to eat Kazui. He’s his teacher. Three, Ichigo was a hollow too, lest you forget!”

“You’re dumb. This guy is gonna do nothing but break your heart because you’re being an idiot. You’re jumping into this too soon. How long have you known him?”

“According to him, since I was sixteen. As far as I know, since the end of March,” she answered. This wasn’t looking good for convincing Riruka.

She wasn’t impressed. “You’re fucking the guy who hurt Ishida and Tatsuki. You’re playing house with the guy who fucking killed--” Riruka almost said it. She had heard the stories about the winter war. How Ichigo had died twice while Orihime was simpering to an Arrancar. Grimmjow had told her all about it. Nel had told her how Orihime was so scared and didn’t help Ichigo. She just cried. “Find someone normal.”

“You’re telling me to stay single for the rest of my life. I’m not normal. Kazui is not normal. We can’t rope someone else into this craziness. This is normal for us.” Orihime closed her eyes for a minute, taking slow, deep breaths, just to calm down. Then it hit her; what Riruka said about Tsukishima and Ulquiorra. “Wait a minute, Riruka, I need you to explain some things.”

“OH! Look at the time… I need to go home and feed my pet rock,” Riruka said. She put down the wine glass and practically ran off of the roof and down the stairwell.

***

Orihime waited a day. She waited another day. By the time Kazui’s Kendo class rolled around on Saturday, she was tired of waiting. She took the day off again and drove her son into Naruki City, and as the kids were doing warm ups around the Cifer property, she laid a question down on her… boyfriend.

“So, Ulquiorra. I have a question for you,” she kind of chewed on her words, speaking through the side of her mouth as they stood side by side, watching the kids limber up.

He gave the woman a side-eyed glance. “Yes?” he said in a plain voice. “Ask and I will answer.”

“Who did you kill during the Winter War?” she asked without any kind of special inflection.

If Ulquiorra was eating something or drinking something, he would have choked. As it were, he stopped breathing for a moment. How did one answer this question? How could he just--Of course… “Two Shinigami in the Dangai and Ichigo Kurosaki… not once but twice.”

Orihime raised her eyebrows at the first admission and laughed at the second. “You did not, obviously. Are you trying to pull my leg?”

“Believe me or not. I know what happened during the winter war, while you do not. Your precious husband wanted to erase all existence of me from your mind,” Ulquiorra replied. He turned his head and looked at Orihime. “Grimmjow put me in a Caja Negacion so that I wouldn’t take you back to your quarters. Don’t you remember a big black bat?” 

Orihime scoffed. “No. And Grimmjow put Tsukishima in a Caja whatever it is. And thanks a lot for speaking poorly of my dead husband,” she rolled her eyes but it was more of a mild scolding than actual offense. “But, still, none of it makes any sense. If you killed him twice, how did he come back to life?”

“You did it,” Ulquiorra replied. He folded his arms over his chest. He was becoming tired of this merry go round of Tsukishima did this and Tsukishima did that. How could he make her understand there was no fucking Tsukishima during the winter war? “Maybe today isn’t the best day for this. Perhaps you should seek out Urahara and this Tsukishima.”

The woman twisted her lips to the side and then bit at her thumbnail as she considered Ulquiorra’s recommendations. After a moment she hummed and said, “Maybe you’re right. But answer me one thing, why would Ichigo want to erase you from my memories?”

Ulquiorra considered her question carefully before turning back to watch Kazui and Eriko face each other. They both were trying to stay absolutely still for fifteen minutes today. He studied them. “I cannot answer this. I am not Kurosaki.”

Orihime sighed. He was right of course. Even if he had suspicions, they would only be speculative. She took a step closer to him, extending her little finger out to wrap around his discreetly. “No, you’re not,” she murmured, a small smile on her lips.

He stiffened when he felt her touch but relaxed. “Why the questions, Woman?”

“Riruka. I had a drink with her a couple days ago and we got into it about our relationship. She’s not very supportive, not that I expected her to be. She’s antagonistic by nature and she had a huge crush on Ichigo. Anyway, I told her about us, like, kind of a lot about us,” she paused and swallowed. “She said a few things that didn’t makes sense. Like something about Tsukishima and you…”

Letting out a small noise of disgust, Ulquiorra shook his head. Of course it was that loud mouth, lazy woman who had put ideas into Orihime’s head. “What did you tell her?”

“I told her that I love you?” she said, unsure about how he would feel with her outing their relationship.

“And she disapproves of our relationship although there is nothing but warmth and affection?” Ulquiorra asked. “Where is her happy little relationship? She seems like a bitter woman who will remain alone for the rest of her days.”

Orihime grinned at his reaction, and nudged his arm with her shoulder. “Oh, don’t worry about Riruka. She has her pet rock to keep her warm at nights,” she turned her grin toward his face then with a small giggle, her eyes closing nearly to crescents. 

“So I am correct,” he said peeking at her. “I think it’s time you talked to either Ishida or Urahara.”

Orihime nodded. He was right. They had been together for a month already and she was still hesitant to tell Kazui anything, mainly because he might have questions she didn’t have answers for. “Who do you think I should start with?” she asked, making an uncertain face. Both possibilities had a downside.

He raised an eyebrow at his girlfriend. “If you’d like I could accompany you to both or either. Unless you’d like to go alone. I would start with Urahara and then Ishida. Ishida will lie to you because he wants to be in my place.”

Orihime wasn’t sure she knew what he meant. “Your place?”

“He wants to be the one who makes love to you. He wants to be teaching Kazui things. He has always had a thing for you,” Ulquiorra said. He gave her a heavy look; one that implied much more than what he was saying.

Orihime’s lips drew into a flat frown. She knew he was right, but it was much more convenient for her to look the other way. And honestly, had Ulquiorra never come into her life, and had a few more years passed, she might have given her Quincy friend a shot. She finally shook her head. “I’m glad it’s you,” she said after a quiet minute. “I want you to come with me to Urahara’s. If he is unhelpful, we’ll try Ishida.”

Ulquiorra gave her a nod. “Go inside and make yourself comfortable. I have a Kendo lesson to conduct.”

“Yes, Cifer-sensei,” she said with a shallow bow and a smirk.

***

Ulquiorra stormed into Urahara’s shoten a very pissed off man. He was angry and he wanted answers. “I know you’re here you fox bastard!”

“Ah! Cifer, don’t you know it’s impolite to just barge into someone’s home, yell for them and insult them?” Urahara had a smile on his mouth but Ulquiorra could not tell if it reached his eyes since the hat he always wore was pulled down low. 

“I want answers. Where is Tsukishima?”

“The Fullbringer?”

“Yes,” Ulquiorra spat.

“Um, as far as I know he’s dead.”

“ _ DEAD _ ?”

Urahara nodded. “He died but was brought back to life by Captain Kurotsuchi. They helped out in the Quincy Blood War.”

“How many fucking wars did you all fight in? How many wars did my woman fight in?”

Flick. The fan lazily swayed back and forth as the smile got bigger. “Your woman? I assume you mean Orihime Kurosaki?”

“What is this Book of the End? How do I reverse its effects?”

Snap. The fan closed and the blond man frowned. “No one is completely sure how Fullbringer powers work. I mean, I studied one of their leaders from afar but--I don’t know Cifer. I can tell you’re frustrated with my answer.”

Frustrated wasn’t the goddamned word for it. The green-eyed man brought his hand up to where the other could see it and put his fingers on that round little ball in the web of his hand between his index and thumb. “I want to see this Tsukishima, now.”

“Now, Cifer, let’s not be hasty. You pop those and you’ll destroy the gigai, my shop, and half of this town,” Urahara cautioned.

“Good, at least I’d be taken to Soul Society. I know I could get to this guy,” Ulquiorra stated. He wasn’t going to play around with this. He leveled a stare at the other man. “Did you have anything to do with Orihime’s memory loss stunt that Kurosaki and Ishida concocted?”

“What? Absolutely not. I’m into schemes that are for the greater good, not to hurt people. I sell sweets and Shinigami accessories. That’s it.”

This made Ulquiorra snort. That was pure bullshit if he ever heard it. “Really? You could have told me that the gigai I had was equipped to reproduce. That hurt me. You could have done something to instill apathy in my brain so I didn’t have to deal with every emotion I had to wade through.”

“You’re still equipped to reproduce.”

“What?” The word boomed through the shoten. “What do you mean? I told you to take those things out!”

Urahara shrugged. “C’mon Cifer, do you think I let you roam Japan unsupervised? I’ve kept tabs on you. You’re about as social as a lost sock.”

Ulquiorra wrinkled his face up at that comparison. What did that mean?

“You’ve had no partner nor had any interest since you’ve become human--”

“I AM NOT HUMAN. I AM STILL A HOLLOW. I JUST CHOSE TO KEEP MYSELF IN THIS THING!” Ulquiorra shouted. “I am only human because my daughter requires it of me. She is the only reason I’ve not gone back to Hueco--”

“Is she really? Because there’s a redhead, about yay tall… Sound familiar?” Urahara nodded before he shuffled down the hall deeper into the building. 

Ulquiorra had to follow him. “So you just decided since I wasn’t romantically or sexually active to leave that stuff in there?”

“Oh, that. It's not actually a feature of the gigai. Your spirit--your soul is strong and virile. I’ve theorized that you gave Eriko a piece of yourself. You gave her a piece of your power,” the blond said as he sat down at a low table. “Tea?”

Tea? The guy was telling him he had passed down his hollow powers to his daughter and he was offering tea? Fucking tea? “You’re not answering me plainly,” Ulquiorra pointed out.

“Cifer, you can still reproduce. I am unable to alter your spirit properties. I am only able to restrain them to the best of my abilities. Making you sterile is beyond my capabilities. Of course, you and Orihime have been careful, right?”

“Go fuck yourself Urahara. I want answers about this Tsukishima and whatever power he has. When I come back I will have Orihime with me and you will tell us about this Book of the End. If not… I’m breaking the dampeners and you’re taking me to Soul Society.”

***

_ -We need to talk. _

***

“You can’t be serious.” The Quincy had removed his glasses and was pinching the bridge of his nose. The pink-haired Fullbringer was one of his least favorite people to begin with -she was the reason he had avoided Halcyon Cafe and Gifts since its grand opening- and now she was in his office telling him that his dear friend and best friend’s widow was fucking the guy who had killed Ichigo seventeen years ago?

“Yeah, what, are you hard of hearing?” Riruka asked with a curled lip, snapping bubble gum in her mouth.

Ishida cleared his throat. “Well, uh, be that as it may, what do you want me to do about it?” he asked, the vein in his forehead visible and his jaw clenching.

“I don’t know. Ask her out? Stop them? What if Ichigo comes back---”

“He’s not coming back,” Uryu said, cutting her off.

“How can you be so sure?”

Ishida sighed, grabbing a cloth and cleaning the lenses on his glasses before putting them back on. “Because I’ve met him since… Since he passed on. He’s not the same. He doesn’t remember.”

Riruka’s brow wrinkled in confusion. “How could he not remember? He’s Ichigo fucking Kurosaki. He can do whatever he wants.”

Nobody ever considered that Uryu was hurt by his friend’s death. No one ever thought about how it might pain him that his only real friend in the world was lost to him forever. He snapped. “Well, he must have chosen to forget us, then, because that’s what he did! He’s living it up in Soul Society on the fast track to glory and fame! He doesn’t remember shit about what we did or who we are. He doesn’t remember his wife and son. He doesn’t remember me!” He turned away from the obnoxious woman and looked out the window, taking a slow, deep breath. “I think you should leave, Dokugamine-san.”

“But, the Espada…”

“I will look into it. Good day.”

***

Orihime had just finished hanging a load of laundry and scolding Kazui for watching television instead of finishing his math homework when she saw her phone light up. There was a message from Ulquiorra. They needed to talk? She hoped it wasn’t anything bad.

_ \- I’m available. Do you want to meet? _

Ulquiorra was at the drugstore buying something. He had to know. He simply had to know. His phone chimed. Pulling out the device, he sighed as he tapped out a message to her.

_ \- I will be at your house soon. I have something for you… I have something to tell you. _

Oh, dear. Those were fertile words for wild speculation. Soon couldn’t come soon enough. What could he possibly have for her? Flowers? A break-up note? A… A puppy? She hoped not. That was the last thing she needed.

_ \- Okay, I’ll be waiting. _

It took him less than fifteen minutes to run from the drugstore to the cafe. He texted Eriko on his way over, telling her to make sure she drank fluids and such. The girl didn’t want to go anywhere because she didn’t feel well. It was for the best, though, that he did this alone. 

_ \- I’m here. I need to talk to you in private. _

“Kazui, Cifer-sensei is here. Could you please go send him up? You can finish your homework in the cafe. He and I need to speak privately,” she said sternly, giving Kazui the impression that he would be the topic of conversation.

The boy nodded and grabbed his books before trotting downstairs. He saw Ulquiorra outside the shop and opened the door. “Um, Sensei? Mom’s upstairs, she’s ready to talk to you now,” he said, looking scared, and praying to the Soul King that Ulquiorra would only have good things to say about him.

Ulquiorra gripped the plastic bag in his hands tightly as he walked up the stairs. He knew the trick to Orihime’s door, which came open smoothly for him. “Woman?”

“Hello?” she said, padding into the open kitchen/living room from her bedroom. “What did you want to talk about?” It was then that she saw the bag in his hand. “Would you like me to take that for you, or do you want to set it down? Can I get you a drink? Water? Tea?” she was clearly somewhat anxious.

“Um, please take it,” he said, holding the bag out to her. “I went to Urahara’s today, to get some answers for myself.”

Orihime took the bag and placed it on the counter and then got some barley tea out of the refrigerator and poured two glasses. She turned around and gave one to Ulquiorra, kissing his cheek briefly and then backing up so she could see him clearly. “Did you find any?”

He felt lost. He felt shaken. Ulquiorra started pacing, rubbing the fingers of one hand together. When that did not calm him down he started twisting a lock of his hair. “Eriko is not human. I passed my powers onto her--well some of them.”

Orihime made a concerned face toward him but wasn’t exactly shocked by this news. “Well, that doesn’t necessarily make her not human. There are a lot of possibilities. She could be a Fullbringer, like me. We get our ability through contact with hollows,” she supplied, trying to give him hope.

He stopped in his tracks and looked at Orihime. “She is my child. She has part hollow in her...What kind of power do you think our child would have?”

“Uh, hypothetically, I would guess Fullbringer, maybe a bit more powerful than most, but he or she would still be human. Isshin Kurosaki was - _ is- _ a Shinigami, and he had three human children. One has no spiritual awareness at all. Karin has a little. Ichigo inherited his hollow from his mother. She had been infected by one of Aizen’s most powerful early hollow experiments. It was passed down from her to Ichigo, which as we all know just made him insanely powerful. So that’s a possibility, I guess. Why do you ask?”

“Look in the bag.”

Orihime raised her brows in acceptance and took the plastic bag by the handles, opening it up and looking inside. “Oh. Oooooooh.” She didn’t say anything else, looking up at Ulquiorra in a silent question. Her mind was otherwise blank at the moment, trying unsuccessfully to come to terms with the fact that there was a pregnancy test inside that bag.

“Urahara did not remove what I requested him to remove because he didn’t think I’d find anyone.” Ulquiorra looked at Orihime, a dead serious expression on his face.

Still unable to wrap her mind around the possibility, she focused on a side issue. “More likely he doesn’t have the capability to do it, crazy old wizard,” she muttered. Then she started to think. This was starting to sink in. She needed to look at her calendar. “Just a moment,” she murmured, walking across the kitchen to look at the Karakurarizers calendar that hung on the wall above the trash bin. She flipped the calendar page back to May. She flipped it back to the present. Shit. She couldn’t remember precisely, but it was very well possible.

“Do you think…?” She asked as she turned around to stare at him. She didn’t dare imagine it might be possible.

He shrugged. “I have no clue. That is why I bought the test. I would like for you to take it now. I need peace of mind.”

Orihime nodded rapidly, slamming her cold tea and grabbing the bag again with shaky hands. “Be right back,” she said. She disappeared into the bathroom. She opened the box, read the instructions, and took the test, recapping it after she had provided the required sample. She flushed the toilet, washed her hands, and walked back out to the kitchen where Ulquiorra stood and gave it to him the test stick. “You’ll know in about ninety seconds,” she said.

“Woman? Are you okay? What do we do if it is positive?” Ulquiorra asked, looking down at her.

She gave him a nervous half-smile. “Then we have a baby,” she answered.

He opened and closed his mouth several times but couldn’t find his voice. He wasn’t around for Yuko’s pregnancy. He wasn’t around for Eriko’s birth. He had no clue what to do. Seconds ticked by and he began pacing again.

Orihime was not going to be the one to look. He had brought the test. He had wanted her to take it. She did not want to be the one to break the news to him. He looked like he might collapse of stress as it was now. When the time was gone, she said softly, “You can check, now.”


	18. Chapter 18

“You can check, now,” Orihime said, watching Ulquiorra pace her kitchen.

His head snapped up and he was brought to the present. Where had he set that stick? Why was it on her table? When had he set it down? Ulquiorra slowly walked over to the surface and looked at the white stick. “Orihime? What does two lines mean?”

“Um…” She wasn’t sure. “Doesn’t it say on the stick?” She began to walk back to the bathroom where she had left the instructions.

Ulquiorra had to sit down so he plopped down into one of the chairs with a heavy thunk. If he was reading this right, Orihime was pregnant. Fuck. FUCK. F U C K. What the hell was he to do? He managed to squeak out the words, “Um… Positive?”

She stopped in her tracks and froze. She took three slow, shallow breaths before she turned around, then nearly ran to the table to look down at the test.

Positive.

It was fucking positive.

She held her body up by the palms of her hands on the table and breathed heavily. Pregnant. She was pregnant. She turned her face toward Ulquiorra’s and chuckled silently at the look of suspended animation on his face. Then she looked back down at the test. Holy shit. Holy fucking shit. She was pregnant. Once again, out of wedlock. She had to huff out another small chuckle at the irony. It was just her luck that this would happen. 

Still… She turned her face to look at her frozen boyfriend again and down at the test, and before she knew it, a seed of hope began sprouting in her heart. A baby. Their baby. A piece of her and a piece of him in a new life to bind them together for always. A beautiful infant with her eyes and his features. Or his eyes and her features. Or looking like one or the other but their child that they could love and raise together with its older brother and sister. It had been a dead dream until this moment. She looked down at the test again. Positive. “I always wanted another one…” she said at the softest volume her voice was able to carry.

He heard her mumble something, which caused him to look at her. She didn’t look displeased, but Ulquiorra’s mind was flipping between panic and blankness.. “You are not upset?”

She slowly turned her face to his. She regarded him silently for a moment. He looked terrified. She could sympathize. She wasn’t exactly unscared. But… “No. I’m surprised. I’m shocked. I’m kind of in denial. But I’m not upset.”

Oh. Okay. He understood that. He had been in denial several times in his life. He couldn’t shut down to process this news. There were two big factors staring him in the face. “I was angry and threatened Urahara. I don’t know what to do Orihime. I don’t know what we’re supposed to do. How are we going to keep this from Kazui and Eriko? How are we supposed to hide our relationship?”

She finally smiled at him. They no longer had the luxury of coming together as a family in their own time. They were all family now, despite their intentions. Not that Orihime disliked it; she liked it more than she knew she should. “We don’t. We can’t. We’re a family now, whether they like it or not. The kids will just have to deal with it,” she replied in a darkly amused tone. 

“I don’t know what to do. Are we going to tell them now? Are we going to let them find out eventually? I wasn’t around for Yuko’s pregnancy. We had sex and she left and I didn’t hear anything from her almost a year later.” Ulquiorra sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. “I wasn’t planning on this.”

She shook her head, still smiling. “Neither of us were planning on this. We can wait a few more weeks until we have a doctor’s confirmation and we’re past the danger period to tell the kids. We don’t want to break their hearts if something happens.” She sighed and found his eyes. She couldn’t help but feel a little giddy, and she gave another voiceless chuckle. “Wow.”

“This is sound advice,” Ulquiorra said and his voice wavered. “Is there some possibility that this positive could be false? A fluke?”

“It’s really, really unlikely. You bought a good test and I am in good health.” She let her breath go quickly and glanced at the calendar again. “My period is due in three days. If it comes, we’ll know it’s a false positive.”

If it was a false test, what would happen after that? Would Ulquiorra use those condoms he had in his bedside table? He wouldn’t want to. He knew how Orihime felt against him and didn’t want to put a barrier between them. “I’m sure tomorrow this all will sink in,” Ulquiorra said.

Orihime nodded. “Yeah. Wow. There is so much to decide. So much to do,” she walked over to the couch and sat down, looking down at her flat belly. “Hello? Are you in there?” she joked, poking at it. “Are you going to give us trouble like your brother and sister?” She snickered. This wasn’t a joke, but her emotions were high frequency and funneling them into humor was helping her not to get bogged down in worry.

“I have to get back to Eriko. She’s not feeling well today,” Ulquiorra said, standing. He walked over to Orihime and then bent down to kiss her. “I will stop by everyday after school to see how you are doing. Friday, after you close the cafe, will you and Kazui come to my house?”

Orihime’s face fell. She didn’t want him to leave, but Eriko needed him. It couldn’t be helped. She nodded. “Yes. We’ll come. I’ll tell him we’re staying the weekend. The time has come to introduce him to the idea of us together,” she said, grabbing his hand and looking up at him with big puppy eyes. “I love you, Ulquiorra.”

“I love you too, Woman.”

“I know we didn't mean for this to happen, but…” she wasn’t sure how he felt, apart from scared and surprised, and her words died in her throat as that fact sapped her confidence. She swallowed hard and her eyes became wet. “Tell Eriko that I hope she feels better soon.”

Ulquiorra pulled Orihime up and kissed her, backing her up against the wall. He made sure she understood how he felt about her and this news. “I will, Orihime. Get some rest, okay?”

She wrapped her arms around his neck and clung to him for a few moments, stealing as much closeness as she could. “I will,” she whispered into his neck, before squeezing and kissing him back. She did not want to let go. It physically hurt when she did a moment later.

“Call me later,” Ulquiorra said. He did not want to leave her, but his other obligation was at home. He lingered for a few seconds before stepping away from her. “Do you want me to send Kaz back up?”

“No, I’d like some time to come to terms without him here. Otherwise he’ll worry,” she answered, wiping a tear from the corner of her eye. “He’ll know something is up for sure if he came up right now.”

He nodded. Ulquiorra was worrying himself, right now. Soon they would need to figure things out and hash out ideas. He turned and walked towards the door, knowing if he stayed any longer he wouldn’t leave. That was the one thing he hated the most, was leaving Orihime.

***

Eriko rode the train to Karakura Town about three days later. She was supposed to be in school but decided that she had something else to do that day. She would get in trouble, but it needed to be done; it needed to be addressed. So, she was going to enjoy her day off. When she got to the town, she walked to Halcyon Cafe and Gifts, going inside the cool interior.

“Eriko! What are you doing here? Don’t you have school? Oh! would you like some shaved ice? It’s so hot outside,” Orihime asked in a breezy voice, smiling as she sailed through the cafe. It was odd that she seemed unconcerned with Eriko’s absence from school.

“I need to talk to someone, and I didn’t want to do it while Dad was around. I told him I was sick today. As soon as he left, I walked to the train station,” Eriko said. It was the truth. She couldn’t talk to Orihime when her father was around.

Orihime paused, her dazed happiness set aside for a moment. “What did you want to talk about, honey? We can go upstairs if you want.”

The girl shook her head. “Can I have some cake and tea?”

Orihime’s grin returned as she nodded, walking back behind the display. “We have a sweet cherry mousse cake today. Would you like to try that?”

“Cherry mousse cake? Absolutely! That sounds delicious,” Eriko said, clapping her hands together a couple of times. She went to sit down at one of the small tables and waited for her goodies and her best friend’s mom.

Orihime started a small pot of tea for them to share and brought the cake and tea set out, serving Eriko before sitting down across the table from her and bringing her own steaming cup to her lips, blowing across the surface before asking, “What is the matter, Eri-chan?”

“Dad seems really preoccupied since last week. He seems annoyed and his temper has been short,” Eriko said as she added sugar to her own tea cup. She bit her lip before she answered. “It sounds like he’s threatening people when talking on the phone.”

Orihime’s brows furrowed and her eyes found the girl’s from over the rim of her cup. “Do you know who he is talking to?”

Eriko shook her head and dug into the cake taking a bite before saying, “Not really. I think it’s Urahara. He keeps calling the person a bastard and saying he’ll shove a zanpakuto up his bum but he said a different word. He said ass.”

Orihime lifted one brow. “Do you know what a zanpakuto is?”

“No but I don’t imagine it’s pleasant. This cake is really good.”

“It’s just a fancy name for a kind of sword,” Orihime said, then took a sip of her tea. It wouldn’t do to have Eriko worry about things she didn’t understand, and if something was easily explainable, then it would be better to just tell her the truth, even if it was only partial. “Thank you, I really like this cake, too. Cherries are only in season for such a short amount of time that I wanted to make the most of it. Plus, it seems like these days all I want to eat are cherries,” Orihime chuckled. She took another sip and decided to tell Eriko a bit more. “Your father doesn’t like Urahara-san, as I’m sure you know. Urahara-san is… Well, he’s a weirdo. He isn’t a bad guy. He isn’t a _good_ guy, either, but he’s not a bad guy.”

“Well, I heard dad say something to whoever is on the phone about how he owes him a trip to the Soul Society? I’m not really sure. I was supposed to be sleeping but he kept pacing up and down the hall, talking. Dad also said something about a baby. I think he was talking about me. I’m not a baby anymore. I’m almost twelve.”

“Twelve? I thought you were ten, like Kazui. When is your birthday, Eriko?” Redirection seemed in order, here. The girl was getting too close to things that she shouldn’t know about yet.

“No, I turned eleven last year. My birthday is September twenty-fourth. Why? Is that bad that I’m that old?”

Orihime smiled and shook her head. “No, not at all. Kazui is on the young end of your grade. You are on the old end of it. There’s nothing wrong with that. It actually makes me feel a bit better, you know, about the period stuff. I thought ten was too young, you poor thing. I was twelve when I got mine.” She shook her head and let that topic die. “Anyway, my birthday is in September, too!”

Eriko smiled but blushed. The period thing was still new to her. The girl still didn’t like it. She scooped another bite of cake into her mouth before taking a swallow of tea. “Anyway, I’m also feeling sad. I feel left out sometimes. I have no friends at school except Kazui and...”

“And?”

The girl lifted up her hair to reveal a piece of hair shorter than the others. “Some girls cut off a piece of my hair.”

Orihime growled before she could stop herself. She gently put a fist on the table. Eriko was a big girl. She could handle seeing an adult show some appropriate emotions. “Eriko, when I was your age, the same thing happened to me, except those mean girls cut off all of my hair. Do you know what I did?”

“What?”

“I trusted my best friend. She stood up for me until I had the confidence to stand up for myself. She’s the reason I wear my hair this long. I promised her I would never cut it short again, because I trusted her to protect me if I felt too weak to protect myself. That friendship made me strong, and when I was stronger, I found more friends. You can trust Kazui. I know he doesn’t seem like it, but he can be very sensitive and caring. He will be loyal to you and stick up for you. You might have to tell him what’s going on though, because he’s not very observant,” Orihime wrinkled her nose at that and looked at the girl apologetically. “Boys,” she muttered after that, as if it explained everything.

“Kazui… He’s a boy, yes. He’s my best friend. He makes me have butterflies in my stomach. It’s annoying,” Eriko said. She sighed and laid her forehead on the table. “I know if I say something to him about my hair, then it will get back to my dad and then the girls will get into trouble.”

“And you don’t want that?” Orihime asked, looking at her with a questioning eye.

Eriko shook her head as much as she could. “No, I don’t want to cause a scene. I don’t want my dad to get all bent out of shape because someone threatened me. I don’t want him to yell at them.”

Orihime nodded. “So, what _do_ you want to do? I can give you advice, but I need to know what you want the result of your efforts to be, first. I can instruct Kazui to be discreet, but it’s not easy when your dad is his teacher.”

“I want more friends. I want people to like me. I want to get contacts so that my eyes look like everyone else’s. I want to be normal. I feel things all the time. Sometimes it feels like pressure on my head or shoulders; that’s a part of growing up right? Feeling weird? It’s almost like I can tell where other people are in the town. That’s silly though.”

Orihime narrowed her eyes. A thought occurred to her. “Ayane, Shun-o,” she murmured, letting the two of her Shun Shun Rikka responsible for rejecting damage come out to form a small dome over Eriko’s head. Orihime didn’t try to hide what she was saying or doing; she was just testing to see if there was any reaction from the girl.

The girl’s green eyes widened. “What are--You have fireflies near you. They weren’t there before,” Eriko said quietly. “Are they fireflies?”

“No, they aren’t. Eriko, you are special. You were born special,” she said with an affectionate smile. “Like me. Like your father. Like Kazui. There are a lot of us,” Orihime cupped her hand over the side of her mouth, and pointed with her thumb to her business partner before whispering, “Even Riruka.” She sat up then and smiled at the girl. “Some people are sensitive to what is called spiritual pressure. What you see is part of my soul, not fireflies. Maybe now that you’ve been spending more time with us, or now that you’re older, you’ve become more spiritually aware. That pressure you’ve been feeling from time to time is the force of someone else’s soul invading your awareness. It’s probably mostly Kazui’s. He’s not good at controlling it.”

“How do I stop it?” Eriko asked, her expression turning from wonder to frightened. Did this have anything to do with puberty?

“You can block it out, if you want to. You can deny it and decide to not believe… I think if you do that long enough, you won’t be able to detect spiritual pressure anymore. But look, Eriko,” she said with a wondrous grin, releasing all six of her Shun Shun Rikka, which took perch on her arms and shoulders. “There are things in the world beyond normal perception. These things will be attracted to you because of who you are.” Orihime exhaled a bit heavily. She was probably overstepping her boundaries. Still, the girl needed to know. “We love you, Eriko. Your father and I, and Kazui. We want you to be safe and happy. I think it would be best if we had a--” she almost said family meeting. “A talk, all four of us. You can tell us what worries you and we can answer all your questions and take it from there. But I want you to promise me something first, okay?”

Eriko frowned. She didn’t like the idea she was special. It made her seem freakier than she already was. With her green eyes and weird looking father, seeing these soul things did not make her seem like she was normal. She stood out even more. “What?”

“I’m going to ask you to make me a promise like the one I made to my best friend. I will always be on your side, but please never cover up those beautiful eyes of yours.”

“Okay.”

***

Orihime waited for Ulquiorra to come by that evening before talking to him about what went on with Eriko. Besides, she had other news for him. She made dinner. She had sent food home with Eriko so that he wouldn’t have to worry about her eating. This conversation might take some time.

In the meantime, as soon as Kazui came home, she asked him to go upstairs for a chat.

“What’s up, Mom,” the boy asked as he helped himself to a snack.

“I wanted to ask how you would feel about… About me dating.”

The boy made a disgusted face. “Ew, why would you want to do that?”

Orihime couldn’t help but laugh. “Because, believe it or not, grown-ups like that kind of thing. Besides, as much as I love you, one day you’ll grow up, move out, and start a family of your own. I don’t want to be a lonely old grandma,” she said in a teasing way.

Kazui rolled his eyes. “Yeah right…” he trailed off. He was a kid. He didn’t think about things like _actually_ growing up. He knew it would happen but he never visualized it. Still, he couldn’t comprehend why his mother would need companionship. “Well, I guess it would be okay, but, like…” Again he trailed off, his eyes finding his dad’s shrine near the TV. The boy sighed. “It’s been a whole two years now.”

Orihime nodded, letting him take the time he needed to process this idea.

The boy sighed again. “He’s not coming back, is he?”

Orihime shook her head. “Even if he did, he wouldn’t remember us. The konso--”

“I know.” His grandfather had explained the process to him several times. So had Hiyori and the other Vizards. “It’s weird, Mom.”

“I know.” She got him a glass of milk and sat down. “I want to be honest with you, Kazui. I want to tell you the truth all the time, but I also want to protect you.” She paused and took his hand. “Baby boy. I love you so much.” She gave it a squeeze.

“What is it, Mom?” Kazui looked up at her with a milk moustache and a worried expression. 

“I like Cifer-sensei.”

“You what?” The boy’s mouth fell open. “Wait, you what?” He did it again. He looked like a fish.

Orihime squeezed his hand again and nodded. “I like Ulquiorra. Eriko’s dad. Cifer-sensei. I like him a lot. And he likes me, too.”

The boy scoffed. “Of course he does. Everybody does. Jesus, Mom. I thought Eri’s dad was safe! Do I have to give the stink eye to _everyone_ ?”

  
  
Orihime couldn’t help herself. She laughed, tears coming to her eyes. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry for laughing, Monkey, it’s just-- The stink eye?!”

Kazui scowled and took his hand back, crossing his arms over his chest and giving his mother the stink eye. 

“Ooh, very scary, Kurosaki-kun,” she teased, then sighed. “I love you so much, Kazui. You are the best parts of me and your father.”

The boy’s face fell from its tense position and he exhaled, still looking displeased but not so angry. “I guess.”

“Honey?”

“What?”

“We’re going to have a sleepover at the Cifer’s this weekend. Friday to Sunday.”

“Why, so you can make him fall in love with you? He’s going to, you know.” The boy looked away now, pursing his lips. What would happen if that happened? Would they get married? What would happen if they did? His mom wouldn’t love him as much anymore. He wouldn’t be important anymore. He started to cry, although he tried to hide it.

“Sweetheart--”

“No!” the boy said in a sharp, pouty voice. He got up and stomped toward his room.

Orihime sighed, sitting back and wishing she could have a drink. That went better than she expected, to be honest.

***

Ulquiorra had been in the stairwell, listening to the conversation. Eavesdropping was rude, but he thought it would be more of a slight to barge in on the middle of a conversation. Besides, Orihime and Kazui needed to talk about this. It was important. He waited several moments before knocking on the door of the apartment.

Orihime’s head turned quickly, and her body followed as she went to the door. She opened it to see worried green eyes. She was relieved, regardless. “Hi,” she sighed, wrapping her arms around his body.

“Hello Woman. You seem tired,” Ulquiorra replied, returning the gesture and hugging her tightly.

“Did you happen to catch any of that?” she asked, her cheek squished into his shoulder.

“I did. I didn’t mean to overhear, but I didn’t want to interrupt. How was your day besides that?”

“Uh, let’s go up to the roof to talk about that. I’m going to bring some iced tea. Do you want anything stronger?”

Ulquiorra shook his head. “I’m fine. I don’t want you to stress yourself out,” he said, looking at her with concern on his face.

She blushed and gave him a small smile before grabbing a bottle of tea and a couple cups and leading the way upstairs. Once they were on the roof, she shook her hair out, letting the still warm breeze go through it before she sat down. “Eriko came by today. She was pretending to be sick so she could talk to me.”

“Eriko did what?” Ulquiorra asked, his concern morphing into bewilderment. His brow furrowed and he stared at Orihime. Eriko had never done anything like this! “What could she possibly need to talk to you about that she wouldn’t tell me? Is it more women stuff?”

Orihime nodded a bit. “Somewhat. You were right. She has a little crush on Kazui. She doesn’t seem to understand it, yet, but what she explained to me made it sound that way. But that was the least of her concerns. She wants to be normal. She wants to fit in. She’s not satisfied with his friendship alone, anymore, and I had to tell her that she’ll always be special.” Orihime paused and took a deep breath before continuing in a cautious voice. “She can see my Shun Shun Rikka, Ulquiorra. Not clearly, but she saw them. She told me she’s been feeling spiritual pressure. I explained that she was spiritually aware. I told her that many people are; that we were, and Kazui and Riruka are. That’s all. She didn’t seem happy about it, though.” Orihime sighed and took a sip of her tea. It had been a day, and it wasn’t even close to being over yet.

This was not the conversation he wanted to be having. He didn’t want to hear that his child could see spirits. He did not want to hear that she had a crush on the orange-headed boy. Ulquiorra sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose before rubbing the area. “Okay, so she lied to me. She has a crush on your son. She can see spirits… Anything else to add to that?”

“I’m late.”

Of course. Ulquiorra nodded. This was to be expected. “We were prepared for this, were we not?”

Orihime nodded back, then smiled. “Congratulations. You’re going to be a dad. Again.” 

“Congratulations to you too. You’re going to be a Mom again.” Ulquiorra stood up and started pacing. “What happens now? What do we do?”

She watched him, an uneasy feeling settling over her. He was not pleased about this at all. “Well, what do you want to discuss first? Eriko? The baby? Us? Your question is too open-ended.”

“Everything. What do we do for the baby? I have no clue how pregnancy goes except for what I’ve read online. What do we do about us?”

“About us? We can do whatever we want. For the baby, we need to choose a doctor, first. I can only think of two options, and I don’t especially like either of them. But you’re you and I’m me, so… I don’t know, maybe we could pick a normal doctor.”

“Kurosaki’s father is a doctor, isn’t he? Is that one of your options?”

She nodded.

“Who else?”

“Ishida-kun.”

“Absolutely not,” Ulquiorra replied, unhappy that he didn’t remember that piece of information. “Who was your doctor when you were pregnant with Kazui?”

“Isshin was. Ishida-kun was still just starting medical school when I was pregnant last time. But after Isshin confirmed that everything was going along normally, I visited a regular doctor. Just in case something were to go wrong, Ichigo insisted on having someone who was a specialist. He was very protective of Kazui, even before he was born.”

Ulquiorra felt overwhelmed. “If you go to Kurosaki, then he will know. If you go to Ishida, then he will know. I don’t like the prospect of anyone examining you, but I know it needs to be done. Who else specializes in Hollow babies?”

“Ha, I don’t think there are hollow babies, Babe. Eriko is the first born of a pure hollow, if that’s even what you are anymore. You said you weren’t exactly sure. Regardless, I think Isshin is most knowledgeable. He bound his soul to his wife’s because she was infected with Aizen’s pet hollow. She was a Quincy; she would have died without his intervention. That is how Ichigo was born with all those powers. But like Eriko, nothing was especially evident for Ichigo until he was pushed into Shinigami duties in high school. The only thing before that was that he could see spirits.”

What if Eriko was part hollow? What if this child was part hollow? What if he had been so powerful that he had given a part of his powers to his daughter and there needed to be a catalyst to set it off? “What do we do concerning us? Do we continue these weekend sleepovers and stealing moments away from the kids?”

“You heard what I told Kazui. I plan on giving him the rest of this week to brood, and then this weekend we can explain that we are a couple, if that’s what you want to do. When we decide to tell them about the baby, we should have a plan for the long term, though.”

“I am open to ideas. I have no clue what to do. I have not the slightest idea how to handle all of this, Orihime.” Ulquiorra stopped pacing and stared at her. “We should have been safe. I should have used my head. I should have courted you properly instead of throwing myself at you.”

Orihime stood up and put her arms around his neck, standing on tiptoe to kiss him. After she pulled back, she said, “You and I… We would have ended up here eventually, I’m sure of it. It’s not worth your time thinking about the should-haves. All we have is the present, although I think it’s awfully cute that you would have considered courting me.” She kissed him again. “You love me, right? Do you want to be with me?”

Ulquiorra stared at Orihime with a raised brow. How could she ask a question like that? Did she not see how much he cared for her? Could she not see how much he loved her? “You know I do. We wouldn’t be having this conversation if I did not.”

“I love you too. I want to raise this baby with you, as part of a joint household. We have some decisions to make.”

His head bobbed up and down. “We should talk about it on Saturday. Maybe instead of practicing, we can go to a park, or maybe take the kids to do something fun as a family?”

The grin that blossomed on her face unfurled slowly. _As a family_. “Yes. Yes, that’s what we are. It’s time for them to start getting used to the idea.”

“Good. You think of something to do and I’ll write down some points that I think are urgent matters to discuss. We should have the kids make lists too… You know, of what they’re worried about.”

She nodded. “Yes. I’ll tell Kazui later when he comes out of his room. Did you still want to talk to him alone, though?”

Ulquiorra nodded too. “I will talk to him on Saturday and you can discuss things with Eriko after we talk to them. He doesn’t sound very happy at the moment.”

“No, but he took it better than I expected. He takes after his dad, spazzing out sometimes.”

He had to refrain from rolling his eyes. Of course Kazui took after his father. It was to be expected. “Is there anything else we need to discuss? I think I should go home to scold my daughter.”

“Go easy on her. She’s scared.“

“What could she possibly be scared of?”

“Being different. Learning about our world.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well???? WELL?????


	19. Chapter 19

Ulquiorra didn’t scold Eriko. He went about his normal mannerisms for her when he arrived home. He did not give anything away that he knew about her skipping school. When Friday arrived, he drove that morning with the girl in the backseat of the car and parked it close to Halcyon. From there, he and Eriko walked to school.

He sent Orihime a text message about how he had driven to Karakura and would be prepared to leave with the two gingers whenever she was ready after work.

She smiled, returning the text message that she’d be waiting. The night before she talked to Kazui again. He was quiet for the most part, but listened. She gave him a fresh notebook and a pen and told him to write down his questions and concerns. She also said he could write his private thoughts in there, on a separate page. Kazui had nodded and went to bed early. When Orihime had finally gone to bed she could see the light was still on in his room through the crack at the bottom of the door.

She packed a bag for herself and Kazui with more clothes than usual. She had decided that maybe a trip to the cemetery was in order. Maybe Kazui needed to talk to Ichigo, too. After that, she had planned to take the family to the zoo. It was on the other side of the hill between Karakura and Naruki that the cemetery sat on top of, anyway.

The day was a normal mix of sassy students and papers, and when it was finally time to go home, Ulquiorra met Eriko at the front of the school. “Where is Kazui?”

Eriko shrugged. “I don’t know; he seems mad at me.”

Poor girl. “Well we’ll see him in a bit; we should get to the cafe.”

“Why are we having a sleepover again? It seems like every weekend we spend at the Kurosakis' or they come to our house,” Eriko asked as they began to walk.

“Well, this weekend is something very important. We have to talk about things as a unit; as one. This is a discussion that cannot be taken lightly nor can it be discussed as separate persons,” Ulquiorra explained.

“You’re going to tell us you’re dating, aren’t you?”

A polite cough left him. “Among other things. Do you have any concerns?”

“I don’t want to lose Kazui as a friend or Orihime.”

Ulquiorra stopped walking and looked at his daughter. She seemed incredibly wise at that moment. 

“Oi! Ulquiorra!”

Two heads of black hair whipped around to stare at the person who had addressed him. A petite woman with short black hair styled into a bob walked towards the pair. “Eriko, please go,” he demanded.

“Who is that, Dad?”

“Eriko, please go to the cafe--”

“But who is it?”

“Ulquiorra Cifer. I’ve not seen you in twelve--No, thirteen years,” the woman said coming to a stop in front of them. “You’re still attractive.”

“I--”

“Who are you to address my father like that?” Eriko asked, placing herself between this woman and her father. She was glaring at the other female. No one had the right to act this way towards her dad. The familiarity was astounding.

Instead of being intimidated, the smile on the woman’s face became broader. “Oh my god. Is this--”

“I’m asking the questions and you will answer them! Who are you?” Eriko demanded.

“Eriko, please.”

“I’m your mother, kid.”

Eriko’s brows furrowed and she turned to look at her father then the woman. “What?”

“Yuko, this isn’t a good time.”

“THIS IS YUKO?” Eriko screamed.

Ulquiorra nodded, unable to look at his offspring. “Yuko, please. Just go.”

“Go? I want to see my daughter, and you’re telling me to go?”

Something dark swirled inside of Eriko. Who did this woman think she was? A mother? No. The girl hadn’t spent even five minutes in the other woman’s company and she snapped. “Daughter? I don’t think so. Orihime is more of a mom than you’ve attempted to be,” Eriko sneered, not caring if she was being rude. She gave the woman a dirty look before she took off running in the direction of the cafe, trying not to cry, but it was useless.

As Ulquiorra watched Eriko flee, he sighed. This was not what he needed this week. He did not need this woman walking back into his life. “How did you find us, Yuko?”

***

Kazui was hanging out in that park near the school, avoiding going home. He saw Eriko run past, obviously upset, then climbed down the tree he had been perched on and looked down the sidewalk in the direction she had come from.

There was his teacher. His teacher, standing with some woman he didn’t know. Kazui decided right away that he didn’t like this woman. Her smile was too familiar. She was too pretty. She was standing too close to the guy his mom said she liked.

The boy’s brow furrowed. Why was Ulquiorra entertaining this woman? He decided to eavesdrop, sneaking up behind Ulquiorra and hiding in plain sight, somewhat behind a post box, pretending to look at something in his hands. What were they talking about?

***

“Hi Eriko! Where are the boys?” Orihime asked as the girl came into the cafe.

“My dad--my dad--” she couldn’t get out the words, only crying more. “I don’t know!”

“Honey, honey, come here,” Orihime cooed at her in a maternal fashion, walking toward the girl and putting her arms around her shoulders. She was worried, though. Eriko was an emotional girl, but this was above and beyond her normal outbursts. “Can you tell me what happened? Do we need to get into the car?”

Eriko shook her head and clung to the woman. “Yuko...” she managed to say. Listening to the woman’s voice and seeing her own face mirrored in that other female had upset her greatly. Actually hearing Yuko call her a daughter was too much. “Yuko saw us.”

“Yuko?” It took a moment for Orihime to make the connection. Neither of the Cifers mentioned that woman by name often. “Oh,” she said, alarmed, when she realized. “Are you okay, Eri? Do you need to talk about it? Where’s your dad?”

“I left him with her. She had the nerve to call me her daughter.”

Orihime nodded in understanding. “Should we go find them and make sure your dad is okay? He might need rescuing. Me and my fireflies can chase her away, if you like.”

***

“It’s called the internet. That’s how I found you.” Yuko smirked at him.

“Wonderful. Why?”

Yuko reached out and put her hand on Ulquiorra’s arm which he jerked away from her. “I’m ready to be a mom.”

He scoffed. “More like you’re probably broke and need someone to lean on. I’m sorry, Yuko but you walked out, and you used me,” Ulquiorra replied. He was having vivid flashbacks of that night. “You left our daughter in front of my door.”

“Oh please, that old lady next door came out and got her. How is uh, what’s her face?” Yuko said, waving a hand.

“Sato? She’s dead. She took the place of Eriko’s grandmother. She was invaluable to me; to my daughter. You do not get to walk--”

“Oh, but I can,” Yuko replied.

Ulquiorra scowled. “No you don’t; not after almost twelve years. Get the fuck out of my face. Leave me alone.”

“I could threaten your job. Call your boss, tell him what a disgrace you are. How you treat Eriko when you’re at home,” the woman said.

His nostrils flared and his eyes narrowed further. Ulquiorra took a step towards Yuko. “You know nothing about Eriko’s home life. Nothing. You have been absent for her entire life. What makes you so sure _I_ want you back in our lives? Don’t you remember that letter that you left me?”

Yuko scowled up at him. “She was a freak. What child is born with green eyes? She was a mistake on my part. I miscalculated my cycle.”

“You’re a whore, Yuko. Leave me alone. Leave _my_ daughter alone.”

***

Orihime held Eriko’s hand as they turned the corner and saw Kazui first, then past him, saw the back of Ulquiorra’s head. There was a woman standing in front of him, obscured by his body. Based on their proximity, they appeared to be engaged in an intimate discussion. 

Orihime stepped in front of Eriko, intent to keep her from being seen by the other woman. “Is that her, Eriko?”

“Yes,” Eriko whispered, holding onto the back of Orihime’s top. She flinched as she heard her father yell. She never liked it when he yelled.

_“I DON’T GIVE A DAMN!_ ”

Orihime spoke in low tones to Eriko. “Don’t worry, baby girl. You go to the park. I’ll send Kazui after you,” she said, walking toward her son.

Eriko stood there, pouting as tears filled her eyes again. She had to turn away from the redhead. She did as Orihime said, walking towards the park. Why was Yuko here? 

“Kazui.”

The boy jumped, hearing his mother’s voice right behind him. He turned around quietly. He knew that tone of voice. There was no back-talking to that tone of voice.

“Eriko is in the park. Go keep her company. Now, please.” The please was not indicative of her phrase being a request. It was merely to let him know that he wasn’t in trouble.

The boy nodded and ran after the girl. He caught up to her a few moments later. “Eri! Eri, are you okay?” he asked, seeing the state of her face.

“No. That woman,” Eriko took a shuddering breath, “that’s the woman who gave birth to me.”

“Well, I figured that out, but why are you so upset?” the boy was at a loss, and came closer to Eriko slowly, putting a hand on her shoulder. His mother’s reaction and Eriko’s, in combination with Ulquiorra’s anger made him feel distress. He needed comfort as much as he was willing to give it at this point.

Eriko turned her head away from Kazui. “She hasn’t been around since I was born. She called me her daughter. She’s never been a mom!”

Kazui nodded. “Your dad was saying some really nasty things to her. I guess they are true, huh?”

“Good. She deserves it,” Eriko snapped. She did not like Yuko. She did not like talking about the woman. The venom was rather evident in her voice. “I hate her. I hope every nasty thing my father has said is true.”

“Well, if my mom is as angry as she looks, hopefully that woman will disappear forever after getting a taste of it,” he offered, hoping it might cheer his friend up.

“What did you hear my dad say to her?”

“He called her a whore. He said she didn’t get to be part of your life. He said to leave both of you alone.”

Eriko turned back and looked at Kazui. “He really said that?”

The boy nodded. “He did.”

***

“There you are,” Orihime said in her sweetest, most loving voice. “The kids said something about you getting caught up with something,” she added, threading her arm through Ulquiorra’s as she approached from behind. She was glad she had already gotten dressed nicely and had her face and hair done for the day. 

His automatic response was to stiffen before he relaxed. Ulquiorra turned his head and looked at Orihime. “Hello Woman,” he said before turning his attention back to Yuko with a deadly scowl. 

Orihime let her face follow Ulquiorra’s. She took a short breath, taking in the sight of the woman who had given birth to Eriko. Ulquiorra had mentioned once that she was beautiful. It was no lie. The woman had a sweet face and was well put-together. She bore a strong resemblance to Eriko, but there was something in her expression or aura that was sour, almost poisonous. Orihime smiled at her gently, anyway. “Hello,” she said. “We have plans, so we’ll need to get going soon.”

“Who is this?” Yuko asked pointing rudely at Orihime.

“She is my girlfriend,” Ulquiorra stated. 

“Bullshit. You don’t date, nor do you have girlfriends.”

“It’s been over a decade since you’ve seen me. People change, Yuko,” Ulquiorra replied with a sneer.

“You listen here, Ulquiorra Cifer--”

“No, Yuko.” With that, Ulquiorra turned and looked at Orihime. “Let’s go and leave this trash here.”

Orihime gave his arm a squeeze. “As you wish,” she said. She didn’t spare another glance toward the other woman.

***

The drive to the Cifer house was quiet. Ulquiorra had decided to wait to apologize to Eriko until they were somewhere the kid felt safe. He kept glancing at Orihime, wondering if he had done the right thing or said the right words. When they got out of the car, Ulquiorra pulled the redhead to the side. “I feel like a failure of a parent,” he said.

She shook her head at him. “You are _not_ a failure as a parent. Look at her,” she said, casting her eyes at the kids as they walked down to the post box at the end of the driveway together. “You’ve been an excellent father. You’ve protected her all this time. You’ve raised her well. It’s not your fault that that woman found you. What did she want, anyway?”

“She wants Eriko. She says that she’s ready to be a mom,” Ulquiorra said. He looked at Orihime with fear in his eyes. “I don’t know what to do.”

Orihime shook her head. “She can’t do that. She can’t just take her away. I will adopt her myself. Eriko doesn’t need someone like that in her life. She came to me so upset. We can’t let that happen, Ulquiorra. I’m willing to put up a fight. I’m sure you are.”

“I would kill Yuko before she could take Eriko away from me,” Ulquiorra admitted.

Orihime exhaled slowly. “You can’t. She’s human. But there are other ways. There is no way she’ll take her away from us.” She sighed. Maybe they needed to consider more drastic options, if it was that bad. “What did she say, exactly?”

Ulquiorra shook his head, he didn’t want to relive the conversation. “She called herself Eriko’s mother. She said that Eriko was her daughter. She told me she was ready to be a mom. She used me and I cannot allow her to be in my life. What if she decided that it was too much and left again? Besides, I have you… Why would I want her?”

Orihime rubbed his arm. He was getting all worked up. “You’re worrying about things that aren’t a problem unless you allow them to be. There is absolutely no reason you have to even consider letting her into your life. The only reason that would be an issue would be if you wanted to entertain the possibility. No one can force you to be with them. As for the things she said, she is allowed to say them. She is her biological mother. That is a fact. If she is ready to be a mother, though, she can go out and get pregnant again. She gave away her right to be a mother to Eriko when she walked out on her and never came back for ten plus years.”

“I don’t want her to be in my life. I don’t want her to be in Eriko’s life. You’ve been a motherly figure in her life and you’ve only been around for a couple of months. Not Yuko. I really think that Yuko needs a place to stay and that’s why she found me. She needs money. Something.” Ulquiorra rubbed his face and then pulled that same hand through his hair. “I didn’t want to be found by her again, that’s why when Sato-san mentioned moving up here from Kanagawa, I agreed to it because I thought that Yuko wouldn’t find me.”

Orihime sighed. “Well, if she keeps pressing this issue, she’ll have to deal with me. Or I could always have Riruka lock her up in a dollhouse. If she needs somewhere to stay, that might kill two birds with one stone.”

“Dollhouse?”

Orihime chuckled darkly. “It’s Riruka’s Fullbring. She can trap someone or something inside of an object that she thinks is cute; often a dollhouse.”

“Are you a Fullbringer?”

“Yes. I only found out a few years ago; Urahara made the connection in his research. Both Sado-kun and I are Fullbringers. It’s a wide classification category, though. I don’t think my power is similar to any other Fullbring.”

He nodded in response and then pulled her into his arms. “Thank you for rescuing me. If I had spent any longer around her I would have punched her or something.”

She squeezed him back. “I would do anything for you. _Almost_ ,” she added the caveat with a chuckle..

“What are you two doing?” Eriko asked.

“Hugging,” Orihime responded, her voice muffled slightly by Ulquiorra’s shirt. She didn’t even bother trying to let go. “Why don’t you join us, I think we could all use it after what happened earlier.” She then let go of him with one arm and made eye contact with both children, gesturing with her free hand for them to join her.

Kazui was used to this kind of thing from his mother and rolled his eyes. He sighed but walked toward her. “C’mon, Eri. She’s not going to let this go.”

Eriko followed Kazui and joined the hug, grumbling the entire time she was in the embrace. When she finally pushed away from her dad, the girl looked at him. “I don’t want to see Yuko ever again, do you understand?”

Ulquiorra nodded. “I will try my best to keep you safe from her. Orihime will too. Kazui will protect you, also.”

Kazui’s eyes snapped to the man’s, the vote of confidence in him having a profound effect. He stared for a long moment, taking slow breaths through flared nostrils, before he screwed up his brow and looked back to Eriko. “Your dad is right. I won’t let you down, Eri,” he declared with all the ten-year-old earnesty he could muster.

“Your father is right, Eri. We’re all here for you. Nobody is going to bother you without coming through us,” Orihime added, squeezing the girl’s arm.

The girl nodded. “Okay.”

“Now that is settled, how about we decide what we will dine on and entertain ourselves with tonight?” Ulquiorra suggested.

“I think Eri should pick,” Kazui said, now somewhat full of himself after having his teacher’s verbal approval.

“Um, I’m not sure,” Eriko said. “How about Kazui picks the food and I pick the activity?”

Ulquiorra looked at his daughter. “Is that okay with you Kazui?”

“Sure! We can grill some yakiniku outside! Right? Meat and rice on a hot night like this?” He waggled his eyebrows at his mother. It was something of a tradition between the two of them to grill out on hot nights. She’d have a beer and he’d have a soda and they’d eat and do fireworks. 

“It’s fine by me, but Eri’s picking the activity. If she doesn’t want to do fireworks, _no fireworks_ ,” Orihime said sternly.

“Fireworks are dangerous,” Ulquiorra stated. He looked at his girlfriend. “You will need to go to the store.”

Orihime nodded. “It’s getting late so I’ll go get the things for dinner if you want to put the rice on. If you decide you need anything else from the store, just call me, okay? Can I use your car?”

He didn’t even realize who was standing around them. Ulquiorra handed Orihime his keys and then kissed her. “Please be careful,” he said.

Orihime nodded and left without another word.

Kazui’s mouth fell open. He wasn’t sure if he saw what he thought he saw properly. He elbowed Eri. He elbowed her three or four times.

“What?” she hissed and looked at him. Her dad was clearly ignoring the two kids as he walked up to the front door.

He elbowed her twice more before he found his voice. “Did you-- Did they-- Was that--” He huffed. “What is your dad doing kissing my mom!?” he finally snapped at her. 

“I’ve been trying to tell you!” Eriko whined. “You never listen to me! You’re always like, "What? No way"!” The girl crossed her arms over her chest. 

“I can’t believe this. Next thing you’re going to tell me is that they’re going to get married and we’re going to be brother and sister,” Kazui said as if the idea was repulsive.

Eriko shook her head. “I don’t think my dad will ever get married. And if we become brother and sister, at least I’m older than you!” She stuck out her tongue at Kazui.

Kazui scoffed, throwing his arms across his chest dramatically. “Whatever. Barely. And besides, what do you mean he’d never get married? You don’t think my mom is good enough?” He was getting agitated.

“Oh my god. Your mom is awesome and my dad thinks that,” Eriko said. She sighed like the weight of the world was on her shoulders. “Sometimes I think my dad thinks he’s not good enough.”

Kazui snaked his neck forward, barking at Eri, “It doesn’t matter! He kissed her! People don’t do that unless they’re going to get married!”

“THEY DON’T HAVE SEX UNLESS THEY’RE IN LOVE, YOU DOLT!” Eriko yelled. She turned on her heel and started stomping her way to the house. Before she went inside, she decided to use a line she had heard in one of her television shows. “You live life with blinders on, Kazui!”

“What’s that supposed to mean!? What are blinders!? Hey! Eri! Answer me!” he called out, trotting into the house after her. He knew what sex was. Kind of. His grandfather had explained that it was how babies were made. His mother had explained that he had private parts that were not for anyone to see or touch except for himself or the doctor. She had told him that private parts were used for making babies and that only married people did that if they loved each other very much. Surely his mother would never do something like that with someone she wasn’t married to. Besides, He was still a bit too unaware and naive to really comprehend what that all meant, so the sex part didn’t bother him as much as the blinders comment. At least not at the moment.

Eriko didn’t stop. She made her way down the hall and through the kitchen where Ulquiorra was standing with a bottle of water. “Boys are dumb!” she snapped at her dad and then stomped upstairs.

Ulquiorra raised his eyebrows and looked at Kazui as he came into the room. “What was that?” he asked.

“I’m not dumb! Eri is making fun of me!”

“Why do you think that?” Ulquiorra replied. He wasn’t a psychologist or a therapist, but he was worried about his daughter’s outburst. “You’re not dumb, Kazui. You’re rather brilliant when you put your mind to a task.”

“See!?” the boy called up to Eriko, sticking his tongue out momentarily, then turning to her father. “She said I have blinders on. That’s not even a real word, is it?”

Ulquiorra heard the girl’s bedroom door slam shut several seconds later in response to Kazui’s words and actions. ”She means you’re oblivious. Most guys are at your age. You’re too busy taking in the world around you to pay attention the the little things.”

Kazui sighed. “Is she right?” he asked, climbing up onto one of the kitchen island stools.

“Right about what?”

“That even though you kissed my mom, you would never marry her?” The boy looked down at his hands and picked at his cuticles. He was out of his depth and extremely uncomfortable. The questions he was asking were at the very edge of his understanding, but he knew that Ulquiorra’s answers would have a great deal of impact on his and his mother’s lives.

Ulquiorra looked at the boy. That was a heavy question to answer. He swallowed. “I don’t know if your mother wants to do that. I just know that I do love her and I care for her. I care for you both.”

Kazui’s cheeks colored and his lips twisted to the side. He fidgeted in his seat, the toes on his socked feet raising and lowering repeatedly. “I don’t understand. She told me…” Kazui stopped. He had walked out on his mother for that conversation before it was over. She hadn’t been able to tell him everything that he clearly needed to know. “My mom tried to tell me. I mean, I noticed that she was a lot happier. I mean, a _lot_. She sings again…” The boy’s shoulders fell. Part of him was sad that he hadn’t been enough to make his mother sing.

“Do you want to see something?” Ulquiorra asked, putting his bottle of water on the counter. Maybe it was time to treat the boy more like his own kid. He’d been saving this for a better occasion, but Kazui seemed to need this now.

The boy looked up, not all the way to Ulquiorra’s eyes, but to his face, revealing red eyes and a pouty lower lip. “Okay,” he said quietly. He looked very much like his mother with that face.

“C’mon kiddo. It’s upstairs.” When the two males reached the top of the stairs, Ulquiorra led Kazui to the end of the hallway to the door across from Eriko’s room. “Kazui, I want you to feel welcome here. I know that you two spend a lot of time here. It’s not fair to let you sleep on the couch while we all get beds.”

The boy looked at him, unsure what he was hinting at. “Is there some kind of surprise in there?”

Ulquiorra opened the door to reveal a bedroom. “This is your room to use when you’re here. I want you to know that I am not trying to replace your father. I only want to be your friend and help guide you.”

The boy said nothing as he took a few slow steps into the room. It was very nice. It was about the same size as his room at home, but cleaner and newer. It reminded him a lot of his room at his old house, before Orihime had sold it. It was plain, though. “Do you think I could bring a few of my toys here?” he finally said after exploring a bit.

“Absolutely, you may decorate it however you see fit, except for trashing the place. I’ve seen your room at your mother’s. If we are going to be disciplined, we need to learn how to maintain our spaces,” Ulquiorra replied.

“Yes, sensei,” Kazui responded out of habit toward Ulquiorra’s tone and topic, bowing slightly. He was too busy imagining what he could do, and how, to make this space seem like his room at his old house. “Do you think…” he trailed off, unsure how to phrase his question.

“Say anything. You have freedom to state your opinion.”

The boy’s brow knitted. He wanted to know the answer to his question desperately, but he was afraid to say it out loud. He was afraid that if he did, it would somehow hurt his father. “Do you think my dad would be sad that we’re happy?” he asked in a tiny voice, staring decidedly at the floor.

Ulquiorra crouched down so that he could look at Kazui. It wasn’t his place to say this, but maybe the boy needed to hear it. “Your dad was a brave man. He was kind and caring, doing the best that he could for others. He just wanted people to be safe, happy and healthy. Ichigo Kurosaki was selfless. I do not know if he would be sad or not, but he would want the best for you and your mother.”

Kazui tried to be brave. He really did. His mouth trembled as he nodded at his teacher’s words. He pressed the back of his fists against his eyes. He swallowed several times at the lump in his throat, but when push came to shove, he was just a little boy who missed his daddy. A small cry turned into a long, loud one, and he took a step toward Ulquiorra and crumpled against his shoulder, wailing into his shirt.

The green-eyed man did what any father figure would do and hugged the kid, rubbing his back and letting him cry. “It’s okay, Kaz. We’re all here for you just like we’re all here for Eri. I know it’s hard, missing people. I miss Sato-san and her conversations. I know you miss your dad and the fights right? It’s okay to cry.” 

Kazui nodded and hugged Ulquiorra back, still crying but not as hard as before. He had been trying to be strong for his mom. He had been trying to be strong for himself and Orihime. But with Ulquiorra there, he felt like he could be weak. He knew he could trust his teacher to put him back together again if he fell apart. He knew his mom didn’t need him to be strong all the time if she had someone else to lean on.

After a few minutes, the boy sniffed and wiped his nose with the back of his hand and took a step back. He nodded then, looking into Ulquiorra’s eyes with his own swollen ones. “I think you’re right. I think he would want mom to smile and be happy.”

“He would want you to be happy too. You’re a great kid Kazui. Your mother and father raised you to be a decent young man, except when you egg me on to fight you,” Ulquiorra said with a smile. It was probably weird for the kid to see since Ulquiorra never really smiled in front of his students.

Kazui snorted, then covered up his own smile as he laughed despite himself. He took a deep breath and sighed, saying, “Thanks for letting me use this room, Cifer-sensei.”

Ulquiorra stood and patted Kazui on the head. “Call me Ulquiorra, you only need to address me as sensei while in school and during your kendo lessons. I’m going back downstairs. You check out your new room and let me know if you need anything.”

The boy nodded and sat on the bed. He needed a couple minutes to cool down.

Orihime returned a few moments later, arms laden with groceries and a small packet of dangling sparklers. She looked both ways before coming inside, and saw only Ulquiorra in the kitchen. “Where are the kids?” she asked.

“Hello, Woman. The kids? They had a little disagreement so Eri is in her room throwing a temper tantrum and Kazui is in his room checking it out.” Ulquiorra said, taking the items from her before giving her a kiss. “He and I had a talk.”

“His room? A talk? Wow, I wasn’t gone that long, was I?” she asked, smiling and bewildered. “How did it go?”

“Tears. Questions; the usual. You should go talk to him.”

“Okay, I will. There are a couple beers in there for you if you need one. Don’t swipe my non-alcoholic one, though,” she said before kissing him again and going upstairs.

She went to the room that wasn’t Eriko’s or Ulquiorra’s and looked into the open door. Kazui was lying on the bed, staring at the ceiling. “Everything okay, Monkey? Cifer-sensei told me you had a talk with him.”

“Yeah, it’s okay, Mom. Ulquiorra said I could bring some of my stuff over here and make this room feel like mine.”

Orihime climbed onto the foot of the bed and patted her son’s knee. “Well, that was awfully nice. Did you say thank you? And did you just call him Ulquiorra?”

Kazui chuckled and nodded. “Yeah, he said to call him that normally, when it’s not at school or during lessons.” The boy looked over at his mother then. “I know he makes you happy. I’m glad you’re happier.”

Orihime smiled at her son. “I want you to be happy, too, Kazui. You’re my baby boy. It’s important to me that you are happy.”

Kazui sighed and looked back up at the ceiling. “I think he’s pretty cool. He can be pretty nice sometimes, too. I’m glad he knew dad. He said nice things about him. I guess I don’t mind if you love him.”

Orihime grinned at him and laid down next to him, tickling his sides. “Not as much as I love you, Monkey,” she whispered to him before giving him a hug and sitting back up. “Come back downstairs in a couple minutes, okay? I may or may not have gotten a couple fireworks -- just the baby kind,” she said with a wink before leaving the room and knocking on Eri’s door. 

“What?” the girl said in a sharp tone.

“It’s Orihime. Do you want to talk?”

Oh it wasn’t a stupid boy. She sighed and got off the bed, taking the few steps to the door and opened it. “Hi.”

“Hi,” Orihime chirped back. “Someone get on your nerves?”

“Kaz. He’s spastic about my dad kissing you,” Eriko answered as she made her way back to her bed to sit down.

Orihime came in and closed the door behind her, smiling at the girl. “It’s going to take some time for him to get over it, but he’s already starting to come around,” she said. “You have to remember, you’re a lot more mature than he is, even though you’re only a year older. When you’re young every month makes a big difference. Try to be patient, even if it is annoying,” she added with a sympathetic groan.

Eriko nodded. She knew what Orihime was saying was true but still, it bothered her. “Kazui got mad because he said you only kiss when you’re going to get married and I told him that my dad was probably never going to get married. He doesn’t think he’s good enough at times. He says he’s hollow inside or something.”

Orihime raised her eyebrows and sighed. “That’s not something you two need to worry about. You two can leave the grown up stuff to us grown ups. Anyway, Kazui thinks like that because that’s all he’s ever seen until now. His grandfather has never had a girlfriend. His Aunt Karin never brings any boyfriends around. I was married to his dad and his Aunt Yuzu is married, and I’m sure we are the only people he has ever seen kiss in real life. And he isn’t interested in the shows and stories you like, so he’s not really with it, if you know what I mean.”

The girl nodded and smiled. “I know. I only watch them because Sato-san watched them. It reminds me of her and since she’s gone, it makes me feel closer to her.” Eriko looked up at Orihime with a frown. “I’m okay if you and my dad kiss. I know you two love each other.”

“Good, because I like to kiss him _a lot,"_ Orihime teased, patting the girl’s knee and giving her a wide, cheesy grin. “Do you have any questions about my relationship with your dad? I’m sure you’ve picked up on it, but things are getting more serious between him and me and we want you kids to feel comfortable with it and not feel confused about anything. In fact, the point of this weekend is to kind of bring us all together as a group. So, ask away,” Orihime offered, only slightly nervous.

“No, you pretty much answered my questions the first time. You love him. He loves you and there won’t be any babies.”

Shit. _Sorry, Ulquiorra_ , she thought. _I am not stepping onto that land mine alone._ “Okay, well, come downstairs soon,” she said with a nervous laugh, backing out of the room quickly and then jogging down the stairs.

Ulquiorra watched as she came downstairs, with a slight smile on his face. “Everything okay?”

Orihime stretched her lips out to the sides widely. “We may have an easier time with Kazui than with Eri. It’s too soon to tell, though,” she answered.

“Oh? You said the other day we had some other things to discuss,” Ulquiorra said as he closed the lid of the rice cooker. “What exactly did we need to discuss?”

“Well, our living situation. We’re going to have to merge our households for us to function as a family. We’ll have to decide whether to move everyone here, or above the shop, or find a new place. We’ll have to be a bit careful about that.”

“This place is paid off. Sato used Reo’s life insurance to buy it. I think we need to wait for that to happen though. We need to have confirmation of Three before we do that,” Ulquiorra said. He put his hands on the countertop. “Maybe when Three is old enough to need their own room, we can look into a different dwelling.”

Orihime tried not to laugh while he was talking, and she was proud that she managed, but as soon as he finished, she couldn’t help it. “Three? Really? I hope you’re not married to that name.”

Ulquiorra gave her an unimpressed stare. “No. I merely named it that for now because we cannot call it the baby until we… you know. It will be named Three until we decide on a name.”

“Okay then,” she said, amused. “You are funnier in this life.” She turned to the bags of groceries and did not even notice what she said, or that she had had a memory of him, too caught up in the moment.

His head tilted to the side and Ulquiorra’s eyebrows rose. He was funnier in this life? Did that mean… Ulquiorra shook his head and walked up behind Orihime and kissed her shoulder. “You are remarkable,” he murmured as his arms went around her waist.

She turned her face toward him and smiled gently. “What makes you say that?”

“No reason,” he replied. “You’re taking all of this rather well, though.”

She sighed in a content sort of way, leaning into his embrace. “There’s no use stressing over it, is there? Not more than necessary, anyway. We love each other. We love our children. We do our best. That’s all anyone can ask.”

He kissed her neck this time. “I have loved you since my dying moments. I have been falling deeper in love with you since I saw you back in March. I care for your son. I’m glad that Eriko thinks of you as a mother. As much as Three is a surprise, I’m happy that it’s with you.”

She turned in his arms then and kissed him deeply, holding onto him tightly. “So am I,” she said as she heard a pair of feet come down the stairs and broke the kiss. “I always wanted another one. I’m glad it’s yours.”


	20. Chapter 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Extreme fluff and smut alert. Happy Valentine's day

Once the kids were in bed, Ulquiorra went back down to the living room. He looked at his girlfriend. “It’s a bit early, but did you want to go upstairs?” he asked.

“In a bit. I’d like to just hang out with you for a little while and unwind before we go up there, because I know what happens up there,” she answered suggestively.

“Oh do you?” he asked, the playfulness evident in his tone. “Thank you for making a delicious meal and cleaning up.” Ulquiorra sat down on the couch and stretched out his arms and legs.

“Thank you for cracking the whip and getting the kids to bed. Your scary face is much more convincing than mine,” she said with a giggle, appreciating the view of his body he was giving her as he stretched.

Ulquiorra turned his head and looked at her. “I will be the same to all the children. When I say something is to be done, it’s done.”

“It makes you a very effective teacher and disciplinarian. However… As they get older, I hope you expect a bit more resistance, or you are going to be disappointed.”

He scoffed. “I remember how difficult teenagers are. After all I had a mouthy redhead who refused to eat on my hands,” he said with a smirk. Ulquiorra knew they were trying to unwind but the events that happened earlier that day were pushing to the front of his mind. “Orihime?”

She detected the shift in his mood. “What is it?” she asked, gentle concern evident.

“I’m worried about Yuko. She said she found out where I was located on the internet. I don’t understand why she would want to come back when she’s the one who walked away from me,” Ulquiorra said. He shook his head. “She left me a letter when she dropped off Eriko, saying how she used me because I was a foreigner.”

Orihime sighed. “Well, do you think she meant the contents of the letter? Or was it possible she was just trying to make it unlikely for you to go looking for her? Being foreign seems to be a strange reason to use someone, if you ask me, anyway. I don’t know anything about her except from our brief interaction today.”

“She’s a hostess. Or she was when I last had contact with her. She sometimes sleeps with men for money. She used me to have sex,” he said. Ulquiorra looked at Orihime for a moment. “Do you understand why I was wary of you in the beginning?”

“No. And I don’t understand why she would use you for sex when she had men paying her to do it. It doesn’t add up to me. Am I missing something?” She decided not to react to the potential insinuation he may or may not have been making.

Ulquiorra shook his head. “I’m not explaining this correctly, but she explained in this letter that there was someone with more money, better looks; someone who isn’t emotionally closed off and cautious about people.” He knew every word of that letter. It was etched into his head. “That’s why I acted like I did. I already had a strong emotional connection to you. I didn’t want to be hurt by anyone else.”

Orihime’s brow furrowed. “It sounds like she broke your heart, Ulquiorra. Did you love her?” she asked gently. She did not like the idea of some bitch stomping all over him like that.

“No,” he replied. It was the truth. He had never loved Yuko. “It’s stupid why I sound like that. I felt betrayed. I felt like a piece of garbage.”

Orihime bit her lip and nodded, thinking about it. “Is it possible, do you think, that maybe she felt the same way? Like, maybe she loved you, but you didn’t reciprocate, so she felt rejected by you? It might explain why she lashed out at you in the letter.”

He dug into the pockets of his shorts and pulled out a carefully folded piece of paper. Ulquiorra handed it to Orihime.

She raised her eyebrows as she took it from him, feeling slightly uncomfortable with this. In truth, Orihime was a somewhat jealous person. She always had been. There was a part of her right now rearing up in protest at this note, as if it might snatch Ulquiorra’s heart away from her. She knew it was irrational and locked it up tight, though, as she unfolded the letter and began to read it, instead of rejecting it from existence.

As she finished reading, she sighed heavily and refolded the note. “I think my hunch was right, Ulquiorra. She said so herself, in here. She pursued you for years. There are other people; more wealthy, more effusive, than you are. She chose you despite those things. She was probably very hurt when she left you. I’m not saying what she did was right; it was very, very wrong. But I don’t think she did it because you weren’t good enough for her. I think she did it because she wasn’t good enough for you, and that killed her inside.”

“She never said anything. Not that I would have cared. My heart was somewhere else,” Ulquiorra stated. He let his head fall back onto the couch. “The fact that she left Eriko has made my heart a stone to Yuko. I can never forgive her.”

“I don’t think you should, either. She’s unfit to be a mother. The mere fact that she would show up unannounced and show her face to Eriko, in public, no less, speaks volumes to the fact that she is not interested in what is good for Eriko.” Orihime sighed. “And even if she was; even if she was ready to be a good mom, Eri doesn’t want her in her life. I think Eri is old enough and that these circumstances are such that her wishes here should be weighted heavily.”

Ulquiorra scooted over so that he was closer to Orihime and took her hand into one of his. “Eri wants you in her life, that speaks volumes.” He looked at the letter she still held and then into Orihime’s eyes. “Get rid of that for me… Please.”

Orihime nodded. “Are you sure?”

He nodded. “Yes.”

She set the letter on the table in front of them and put her hands near her heart. “Baigon, Lily, Hanagiku, I reject,” she whispered and the three sprites sprung from the hairclips tucked into her shirt and began to reject the letter. It didn’t take long; only about eight seconds; and it was gone. When it was over, she looked back at Ulquiorra and took his hand again. “I want to be in both of your lives,” she said, giving his hand a squeeze. “We can worry about Yuko if she tries something again, but it doesn’t do any good to sit around stressing about it. She might just go away now that she knows we’re together.”

“Hopefully. I’m not expecting much,” he said with a wave of his hand as if to clear the air. “You know I don’t know what to expect with this whole baby thing. I can do after Three comes, I know all about babies and what to do. I’m just not certain what to do while it’s growing.”

“Haha, you can leave most of that to me. I just have to avoid certain foods, too much stress, be healthy, stuff like that.” Orihime said with a lazy sort of smile. “Oh, and don’t let me carry anything too heavy near the end. Remind me to keep my feet up.”

Ulquiorra raised an eyebrow at her. “Oh don’t worry. If I have my way, you’ll be laying in bed all day while being pampered.” He let his arms snake around her. “I will protect you, Kazui, and Eriko with everything at my disposal.”

She snuggled her head into the crook of his neck. “I believe you,” she exhaled through her nose with a happy sort of hum under it. “You’re pretty strong under that gigai, aren’t you?”

“Why do you ask? I assume I’m strong. I woke up with bat wings.”

“I ask because I can’t feel any spiritual pressure from you. That must mean you have the super duty gigai. Only the strongest ones need that. That or you’re so strong that I can’t feel your spiritual pressure at all, like Aizen.”

Ulquiorra held up his hand, spreading his fingers wide. “I had a regular gigai. I burned through it within several minutes. Urahara gave me a different one that I had until March. There are switches in my hands that will allow me to release my spiritual pressure and leave the gigai.”

Orihime brought her fingers up to feel his hands, detecting a ball-shaped insert inside, then threaded her fingers through his and let their joined hands drop to relax. “That is a convenient feature. “Why did you need a new gigai? The one in March?”

“Urahara said it was time for maintenance on my old one and I could have several upgrades done to it. He checked me out and Kurosaki tried to check me out but I was irritated that day,” Ulquiorra answered. He looked down at their hands. He studied the way her fingers seemed to mold themselves to his. “They wanted to examine Eriko.”

“Hmm,” Orihime thought about that. “Eventually, it might be good, but I think that maybe,” she paused. He wasn’t going to like her idea.

His eyebrow rose and he waited for the woman to continue. “Well?”

“Hear me out before you make a judgment. I think it would be better advised to have Ishida-kun check her out. He has no affiliation with Soul Society. His ability to detect spiritual pressure is unsurpassed. He may not have access to Soul Society’s research, but I think he’s a safer choice.”

The man’s mouth twisted to the side. She was right. Eriko would need to be evaluated eventually. “I will consider this information and we will discuss this further when Eriko absolutely needs to be seen for such matters.”

Orihime nodded. It was his decision, not hers. “I worry about both of them. I hope they aren’t as reckless as I was,” she said with a nostalgic smile, tilting her face up toward his. He looked slightly troubled, his brow set in a light scowl. He looked handsome. The index finger on her free hand rose on its own and pressed into the spot right between his eyebrows. “You’ll get wrinkles,” she murmured in a soft, lazy sort of way.

“I can always have Urahara smooth them out,” he said with a smirk. “May I ask you something?”

She chuckled at his first remark and then replied, “Of course. Ask me anything.”

“Do you want to move in with me?”

She hummed. “The selfish, romantic answer is yes. The realistic, messy, responsible parent answer is, yes, but probably in stages. I love my place, and Kazui seems pretty comfortable there. I don’t know what I’ll do with it. I could rent it out, maybe. Or maybe we can just keep it… It seems like a poor choice, financially, though.” She shook her head at herself. What did she mean,  _ we _ ? Yes, they were planning to blend their families, but Eriko had said it; he wasn’t going to be waiting at the end of any wedding aisles for her. Her finances and his would remain separate. “I guess I’ll figure it out.”

“What about the marriage thing? Are there any conditions for that?”

Well, then. Apparently that topic  _ was _ up for discussion. “What do you mean? I was under the impression that you were not interested in that. Eriko was quite adamant about it.”

Ulquiorra looked at her and nodded. “I always thought it was just going to be me and her. I heard Kazui and Eriko’s argument. He thinks I should marry you. I don’t think I’d be worthy. I’m a hollow in a skin suit,” he said. 

“I was married to a hollow before. At least partially. He was about as hollow as you are now, at least.”

He nodded. “That makes sense. I do not want to push you into anything but it could be something we can consider, down the line. Right?”

“Certainly; of course. There is less uncertainty for the kids, more security for us… I’m not even touching on the emotional rewards. I think I would like to, when you’re ready. It sounds weird to say that, though; like I’m rushing into it. But with Three on the way and how I feel about you… Do I sound crazy saying this? It sounds crazy. I can’t explain why I feel the way I do, but I already feel committed to you, so marriage feels like the logical next step,” she said, struggling to express how she felt. She  _ was _ worried about what Eriko had said about Ulquiorra’s supposed aversion to marriage. She didn’t want to push him away. Still, he had brought it up. Maybe he was open to the possibility.

Pressing his lips into a thin line, Ulquiorra thought about what she said. “It might be too much for them at once. We should let them come to terms with everything before we pile something else on. It is a logical step, but I want to do this right. I would like to date you--court you--whatever kids are calling it these days. When I was a human the first time, we courted those we wanted to spend our lives with.”

Orihime giggled. “What century are you from? You sound adorable. And funny. And I would love to be courted.”

“Good, one of these days when we get someone to watch the kids, I will take you on a proper date. We will go to dinner and maybe the theatre or dancing,” Ulquiorra paused for a moment. “I think I was born in the 1600’s? I don’t even remember that much about it anymore.”

“Wow,” Orihime mouthed, “That’s…. unbelievable. And I have never been on a date like that before. Do you think I could pull off something that fancy?”

Ulquiorra nuzzled her cheek while nodding. “It’s just a pretty dress or whatever women wear, right? I do have nicer clothing than what I’ve been wearing. It’s so hot outside though.”

“I know,” Orihime groaned. “If there is one thing I really love about your place, it’s that the air conditioning is exceptional,” she said and chuckled. “Anyway, I would like to see you dressed up. I’m sure you make a pretty picture.” Orihime smiled and let her mind wander, imagining him with a tuxedo, wondering what surprises lay in his closet. That made her remember Eriko’s room. That reminded her of something that the girl had said, and her smile faltered a bit. “Um, Ulquiorra?”

“Hmmm,” he hummed in a content manner. “Yes?”

“Eriko said something to me, it might just be her clarifying what she already thought she knew, but it might be that she has an opinion about us not getting pregnant. I don’t know how to interpret it, but it makes me a bit nervous that she might not take the news very well when we tell her that she’s going to be a sister.”

That made Ulquiorra sit up and stare at Orihime. “What did she say? Why wouldn’t she take the news well?”

“I’m not sure she won’t, but I stopped in her room and asked if she had any questions about us, and she said no, she knew that we loved each other, but that there would be no babies. She pointed that tidbit out specifically.”

Oh. Oh. Ulquiorra sighed. “I don’t know how to deal with this. How did that even come up? Why did that come up?”

“When she, uh,  _ saw _ us, that time, she asked if we were going to make a baby. I told her that there were ways to prevent that, and that we weren’t going to. She seemed relieved at the time. Little did I know...”

He chuckled softly. “Yeah this wasn’t on my agenda. None of this was in my plans. Strange how you humans alter lives,” Ulquiorra said. “Eriko will get over it. There’s nothing to be done about it now. I could tell her tomorrow, if you want. We could tell them both tomorrow. I don’t know. On one hand I want to tell them everything, but they’re so little still that they need time to get used to things. Everything that’s about to happen are huge things to them.”

“Yeah. And it’s still so early in the pregnancy; a lot can go wrong. I don’t want to tell them and then break their hearts… you know. I don’t expect an issue, but we should at least wait until we’ve had an ultrasound.”

Ulquiorra untangled himself from the redhead and stood, extending his hand to her. “Come, I want to relax upstairs with you. We can talk about other things in the morning.”

“Ha, yeah right. You just want to get some, don’t you?” she asked, raising a brow but taking his hand anyway.

“I wouldn’t be put off by the prospect, but if you are not in the mood, I could hold you.”

“Oh, I’m in the mood,” she replied, smirking a bit. “Have you seen yourself today?” she looked him up and down and hummed in appreciation.

He bit the corner of his lip, liking her reaction to his appearance. Letting go of her hand, Ulquiorra grabbed the hem of the shirt he was wearing and pulled it over his head. “Do you like what you see then?”

She couldn’t wait to get upstairs before she had her hands on him, starting on his defined abdomen and sliding northward to his shoulders. “Like is an understatement. You make the moon jealous.”

“Probably because I’m paler than it,” he stated, bringing his hands to her hips. “I am happy that you are in my life.”

“So am I. I didn’t think I’d ever find someone who I would want to touch me like this or help me raise Kazui. I love you. You have no idea what a pleasant surprise that is,” she said, smiling and letting her fingers play in the hair at the base of his skull.

A grin spread over his face and Ulquiorra pulled her closer to him. “I--Same, I guess. I never thought I’d find someone for myself or to help with Eriko. Let’s go upstairs now so I can ravish you.”

Orihime didn’t hesitate, nodding and stepping into him, pushing him back toward the stairs. “Your wish is my command, Ulquiorra,” she purred, trying to act seductive, and not doing too poor a job at it.

He wanted to scoop her up and run up the stairs but he didn’t. Ulquiorra led her to the second floor and then opened the door to the bedroom. He let her go inside first before he followed after her, shutting the door gently. “You never wanted to follow my commands as an Espada.”

“What can I say? Doing your bidding for Aizen’s purposes and doing them for your own are two very different animals. Plus…” she paused and shook her head. That was weird. She smiled, brushing it off. It wasn’t important why that thought had pushed into her mind, it was probably just her brain filling in the blanks based on Ulquiorra’s vague descriptions of their past interactions. She cleared her throat softly before continuing. “Plus, I’m sure, if the other Espada are anything to go by, your skin is a lot softer and your appearance a lot sexier this way. It’s, uh,  _ convincing _ .” She chuckled as she unbuttoned her jean shorts and pulled her shirt over her head.

His brows furrowed for only a moment as she said that. Was she remembering? The thought to show her his helmet came into his mind but Ulquiorra dismissed it. There was a time and place for everything and there wasn’t a place for bad memories at the moment. Ulquiorra turned his attention back to the woman who was standing before him in just her underthings. “You are gorgeous, every inch of you is perfect.”

Her arms wound behind her to unhook her bra, and she pulled it off one strap at a time and set it on the dresser before she responded. “I’m glad you think so, although if you knew me back then I’m sure you’re aware that age and childbirth have stretched the perfect out of me, if there ever was any,” she blushed and chuckled but didn’t try to hide herself from him. She wasn’t ashamed of her body, but she knew it was imperfect.

“Hush,” he said, moving closer to her. Ulquiorra didn’t care if she had aged or whatever. She had always caught his eye and fueled his curiosity. “I’m glad you’re going to be cohabitating with me soon. It means that I get to wake up to you every morning,” he murmured before kissing her slowly. His hands drifted down her naked back. 

Oh, this was nice. The door was closed. The kids asleep, and they could just take their time and enjoy each other. They only had to keep the noise to a minimum. She could do that. She put her hands on his hips and let them drift over the back of his shorts, giving his ass a quick squeeze before going up his bare back and using her arms to press her body into his. The intimacy was good. She wasn’t it a hurry.

Ulquiorra let his blunt nails run down her spine in a ticklish manner. He liked this. He liked holding Orihime. He liked being close to her. “Is there something you’d like Orihime?” he asked in a sultry tone.

“I’ve already got it,” she replied after releasing her lower lip, having successfully not giggled. “Although I wouldn’t mind you losing the shorts. I wouldn’t mind lying down with you either. I wouldn’t mind kissing you all over. What about you? Anything catch your fancy?”

“Get on the bed,” he said, stepping away from her. “I will undress and we can lie down and see where things go?”

She grinned and walked over to her side of the bed, pulling down the blankets and her underwear before getting onto it. It was warm, despite the air conditioning. She didn’t feel the need to cover up. She rolled onto her side and propped her head up on one hand to watch him with a smile.

He looked at her questioningly before he slipped his thumbs into the waistband of the shorts and his boxers and slid them down his hips and thighs. Crawling onto the other side, Ulquiorra lay down beside the woman. “You’re looking at me like I’m some kind of god or deity.”

“You look like one. You act kind of like one. Besides, if we can’t worship the ones we love, who else would deserve such treatment?” She scooted toward him until her legs tangled up in his. She enjoyed the way the hair on his legs felt against her smooth ones. She let the palm of her hand rest on his hip and slowly come up to rise over the surface of his strong arms, over his shoulder, to the side of his neck, and then down to stop over the numeral over his heart, wedged somewhat between the surface his chest and her breasts which made contact with his body just below that number. “You are one, in a way, anyway.”

His breathing hitched as she touched him. Ulquiorra swallowed before he wrapped his arms around Orihime, rolling onto his back and pulling her on top of him. “You’re a goddess, then.”

“Fine. I’ll be your goddess if you want,” she said softly and then kissed him with a light touch, both lips first, then the top one, then the bottom. She cupped his face and kissed his forehead and his nose, then his chin and his adam’s apple. She kissed both shoulders and each side of his chest, each nipple, and then came back to kiss his lips, this time with a bit more pressure, before pushing up and looking down at his face, tossing her head to move all her hair to one side. “You are a gift to me,” she whispered, sitting up further to look at how perfect he looked under her.

“Do you really think so?” he asked, lifting his arms to cup her face. Those same hands trailed down her neck to her breasts, which he caressed and fondled, thumbs brushing over Orihime’s nipples. “I love you, Woman.”

A soft groan left her throat before she could answer him, “Yes, I do really think so. I love you. I love you and I love how you’re touching me right now,” she said with a bit of a whimper, her eyes closing as she focused of the sensation of his hands on her. Her body moved further down his, and when her backside made contact with his growing erection, she didn’t shy away, instead letting the soft surface of her ass slide side to side against it as she slowly shimmied her hips.

Hnnngh. Whatever she was doing was something that Ulquiorra had not felt ever in all of his years in the world of the living. He moaned before moving his hands down her body to her hips. “Do that again,” he said. When she complied, the green-eyed man had to bite back a louder moan, only letting a whimper escape.

Orihime’s eyes opened to watch his face as he enjoyed the feel of her skin against him. She kept this pressure on him for a few more minutes before she decided that if he liked that, maybe he would like to feel other parts of her body touch him that way. She raised her hips and moved further down his legs until she sat astride him, his cock nestled between her thighs. She rocked her hips up and down then, not that her sex had any contact with him at this point, but so that the collateral contact with the soft, plush skin of her inner thighs moved around him.

“Ohhhh,” he breathed, drawing the sound out. This was mind-blowing, what she was doing to him. He rather enjoyed it as his eyes squeezed shut. “I’ve never done anything like this before. Orihime, mmmm, please.”

“What do you want, Baby?” she asked sweetly, still keeping it up. She’d never done anything like this before either. This was much more about the experience as a whole than a potential orgasm, which most of her previous experience revolved around.

Pressure was building at the base of his spine as she moved on top of him. He didn’t even know it was possible for this much pleasure to be wrung from his senses and he wasn’t even inside of her. He wanted to be inside of her though. He also wanted this to continue. “I don’t know--I want you to keep this up, to continue, but at the same time...Oh god. I want--I want to be inside you.”

His words made her eyes darken and her core weep. She didn’t waste time lifting her hips higher and positioning him under her before slowly letting the tip of his cock break through the seam of her pussy, then push into her inch by slow inch. She sighed as her sex made contact with his body, then she put her hands on his belly and began to move over him, her lips parted so that the sounds of fulfillment that wanted to expand through the room would leave her body in relative silence.

Bending his knees and bracing his feet on the bed, Ulquiorra moved with her, thrusting in and out of her body at a slow pace. He opened his eyes and looked up at the redhead with warmth. She was divine. His spine arched as a wave of pleasure hit him. “Woman,” he murmured.

“Ulquiorra,” she whispered his name, riding him until he was spent. He looked ruined for a moment, and she laid down on his chest to enjoy the sound of his breath and the heart pounding inside of his chest. “I love you,” she whispered again.

“I love you too. Sorry,” he huffed, putting his arms around her. Ulquiorra kissed the top of her head and sighed.

“Don’t be sorry.” She closed her eyes and smiled, happy to be where she was. She nuzzled her face to his chest and sighed, then a silent chuckle went out her nose. “It’s silly, and I don’t know why, but for some reason, just having you fill me is very comforting. It’s kind of a strange thing if you think too hard about it.”

He laughed. Ulquiorra laughed hard. Orihime was precious. “You’ve always been a strange woman. I think that’s one of the things that captivated me.”

“Thanks a lot,” she said in a withering voice. “If that will be all then, your majesty, I think we should at least put our underwear back on and go to sleep. The kids will only afford us privacy so long as they’re asleep, I would think.”

“But what about you?” he asked. Ulquiorra tilted her face up and kissed her. “I was teasing, Orihime. Had you been like any other human, I would have dismissed you. I wouldn’t have--I wouldn’t be here now if you were a normal person.”

She crossed her forearms over his chest and rested her chin on them so she could look at his face. “Why is that, do you think?”

“You made me find my heart. You made me break through my apathy.”

She smiled at him. “Then thank goodness I’m a weirdo, because I wouldn’t give up your heart for anything in the world.”

Ulquiorra smiled at her. “Tomorrow I’m going to make you scream my name over and over--” he yawned, interrupting himself. 

“Challenge accepted,” she replied, also yawning. She got up and grabbed a sleepshirt from her stash of clothing in his dresser drawer and picked his boxers off the floor. She returned to the bed, passing him the undergarment and snuggling into his shoulder. “Goodnight, Ulquiorra,” she said with another yawn. She was asleep before he had his underwear on.


	21. Chapter 21

The next morning the kids were up early and one of them was not happy. Despite coming to a bit of acceptance the night before, Kazui woke up angry and confused. Before his mother even came downstairs, he was outside in the yard with a bokken, going through drills on his own.

Ulquiorra’s hearing was sharp enough that he heard the practice sword whoosh through the air. He sighed, untangled himself from Orihime, and slid on some sweats and a t-shirt before leaving his bedroom and going downstairs. He opened the sliding glass door and walked out onto the deck, watching the boy. “Most kids sleep in on the weekends, Kazui,” the green-eyed man said.

“I would have if we didn’t have a baby bedtime,” the boy grumbled quietly. He did not make eye contact with his mother’s boyfriend.

“Pardon me for making sure that you kids have enough rest for your growing bodies,” Ulquiorra said as he stepped onto the grass. “What’s really bothering you?”

The boy looked down the length of the bokken and pursed his lips. He brought the practice weapon up and down a few more times before he let the end of it touch the ground and turned to face his teacher. “Why _my_ mom? Why couldn’t you have liked any of the other moms? Or somebody without any kids like Riruka?”

The older male’s mouth formed a thin line as he listened to Kazui. Why his mom? It wasn’t in his plan to like any moms or anyone else. It had just happened. Had Ulquiorra not gone into Halcyon with Eriko, this wouldn’t be an issue. “Because--because--” He had no words. He couldn’t explain to this boy what happened or how he felt about his mother. “Kazui, your mother had my heart a long time ago. Riruka is unattractive.”

The boy scowled at Ulquiorra and narrowed his eyes, doing calculations in his head. “So you are telling me that you liked her when she was my dad’s wife?” There was an underlying accusation in Kazui’s voice.

“No, before that. When she was a teenager.”

“Oh.” The boy looked down at the ground again as he processed this information. “Is that why you fought my dad?”

This kid knew how to ask questions, didn’t he? Ulquiorra sighed and sat down on the grass. He looked up at Kazui. He was going to deny those claims but as he thought about it… That _was_ why he fought Kurosaki. The Shinigami was going to take Orihime away and he couldn’t stand the thought of that. “Yes, you could say that.”

The orange-haired kid was not sure about this. Maybe he needed to talk to his mom about it, but he still had questions for the man. “Are you mad that he won? Are you mad that my mom liked him?”

“No,” Ulquiorra stated. “Your father was the better person for your mother at that time. I’m sure he made her happy. Besides, if I won, there would be no you.”

Being a ten-year-old, Kazui wasn’t very aware of how his feelings translated to his facial expressions. His mouth twisted to the side and his eyebrows knit into a stormy kind of visage. He didn’t know if it would be wrong to reveal that before his father’s death, he had not made her happy much at all.

Ulquiorra raised an eyebrow. “Your face speaks louder than your voice ever will. You need to learn how to not show emotion when you fight. Your opponent will beat you every time.”

The boy sighed. “You’re not my opponent, Ulquiorra.” He sighed again and sat down on the grass, letting the wooden sword rest across his body. “She wasn’t happy at the end,” he murmured, his cheeks darkening.

“I know I’m not your opponent, Kaz. I’m supposed to teach you. I just gave you a lesson,” Ulquiorra answered. “Sometimes adults go through things that make us unhappy. That’s how life is.”

Kazui nodded and looked around before leaning forward a bit. “You know I can see ghosts and stuff, right?”

The dark-haired man nodded. “You’re a Shinigami, like your father. If I didn’t have this gigai on, you’d be able to feel and see me too.”

The boy gave a small smile before his face fell. “Yeah, that would be cool. But I should have been able to see him. He didn’t say goodbye. He could have, but he didn’t.”

Oh… That’s what was bothering the boy. Knowing what the elder Kurosaki turned into when he died, it was probably for the best that he hadn’t stuck around to say goodbyes and farewells to the ones he loved. The moment Kurosaki died, Soul Society was probably itching to cleanse his soul. There wasn’t anyone powerful enough to fight the hollow he had become. “Does that bother you that he didn’t say goodbye?”

Kazui nodded, looking toward the ground.

“Have you spoken to your mother about this?”

He shook his head. “I can’t. It will make her sad.”

“Kazui, let me explain something. Your mom cares about you. She wants you to be happy. She doesn’t like how you push her away. It’s not helping anyone. It won’t help you in the long run,” Ulquiorra said. “Come, sit down for a minute.”

The boy got up onto his knees and walked on them over toward where Ulquiorra was sitting and took a seat beside him.

“I’m going to ask you several questions. I would like you to answer them. Do you have a problem with me dating your mother?”

Kazui shrugged. “I don’t know. I guess not. But also kinda.”

“I promise to you that I will try my best to always make her happy. I do not want her to be sad or unhappy. Next question, would you talk to your mother about what is bothering you about your father’s death?”

Again the boy looked uncomfortable. “I would if she wouldn’t be sad, but I don’t want her to be sad.”

Ulquiorra sighed. “Okay, do you mind if I bring it up to her?”

The boy thought about it for a few moments. “She’s happy when she’s with you. I think maybe if you said something maybe she wouldn’t be sad, right?”

Hmmm. Ulquiorra’s mouth twisted to the side for a moment as he thought. “I can be there if you want to tell her. I think she would be happy if she heard it from you,” he replied. “Kazui, are you thinking you make your mother unhappy?”

The boy brought his knees up to his chin and wrapped his arms around them. “Sometimes.”

Shaking his head, Ulquiorra placed a hand on the boy’s shoulder. “You make your mom happy. Her face lights up when she talks about you. It makes me proud that you’ve come so far in such a short amount of time.”

Kazui looked over at Ulquiorra with a flat expression. “Thanks, but I know I make her unhappy. She doesn’t want me to be a Shinigami. She’s afraid I’ll be like him.”

“You are your own person. You can change your destiny. Your mother did. Your father did. Being a Shinigami is dangerous,” Ulquiorra said quietly. “I watched what horrors your father faced in Hueco Mundo. He came close to dying over and over again.”

“I don’t want to do anything like that. I just want to be able to protect my friends and my mom.”

“That is just like your father. He wanted to do the same thing. Your mother wanted to do exactly that. You should trust her when she makes decisions. When it comes time, I’m sure you will be able to do that,” the man said. “Final question and then I’ll let you get back to practicing.”

“Okay, what?”

“Do you want me to marry your mother?”

Kazui’s blush extended to the tips of his ears as he nodded. “If you kiss her, you should.”

“You do realize that would make Eriko your sister and you’d have to be around me all the time. I’d shape you into a top-notch kendo student,” Ulquiorra said with a small smile.

Kazui smiled back and said with a small groan., “I know, but it wouldn’t make much difference from how it is now, would it? I mean, I am with you guys all day at school and like, every weekend now…” He rolled his eyes. “I know Eri is my best friend but I feel like she is starting to get sick of me. So it’s like she’s my sister already.”

Again, he shook his head. His daughter wasn’t sick of him. She liked him and hated the feeling at the same time. Ulquiorra knew this. He blamed it all on those dramas that Sato used to watch. They put silly grown up notions into his daughter’s head. “You two are growing up. The world is changing for you both. I don’t think she’s sick of you. I think she’s just being a female.”

“What difference does that make?” The boy was totally serious, and looked at Ulquiorra like what he said was preposterous.

“That’s a question for your mother to answer,” Ulquiorra said as he stood up. “C’mon, let’s go make our ladies some breakfast.”

Kazui smiled and followed. When they got inside, he seemed to have had an idea. As Ulquiorra opened the fridge, the kid stood really close and said quietly, “You know, she really, really likes it if you bring her coffee in bed before you make the breakfast…” he walked away then and pretended to make himself busy.

Ulquiorra’s brow rose as he looked at the child. Coffee, eh? Anything to make Orihime happy. With a sigh, the man walked over to the coffee maker and measured the required items, pushing the button to let it brew before he walked back to the fridge. “What do you think we should make Kaz?”

“Eggs. Do you have eggs? Did you know that _I_ can cook eggs all by myself? My grandpa taught me,” the boy boasted.

“I have eggs, but you’re not burning down my house by cooking. You can help me,” Ulquiorra said. The coffee maker beeped, signaling it was done and he looked over at it. “How does your mother take her coffee?”

“Black, like her soul,” he said with a hissy kind of voice that he had heard his mother use on many-an-early-morning. It was a standing joke between the two of them. He smiled when he had finished saying it.

This kid. Ulquiorra chuckled as he got two coffee cups down and filled them with coffee. “‘I’ll be back in a few moments,” he said. He left his cup sitting on the counter while he went upstairs to deliver the other cup to the redhead.

Orihime was still sleeping, but lightly. When the door opened she turned her head and cracked her eyes open. “Good morning, what time is it-- Is that coffee?” she asked as her face broke into a sleepy smile.

“It’s early. Your son woke me up by swinging a bokken out in the yard. And it is coffee. I made it fresh for you,” Ulquiorra said, walking around the bed and putting the cup on the other bedside table, so Orihime could reach it.

“You know how to get on my good side,” she purred after she inhaled the scent of the hot liquid. “C’mere,” she added, getting up on one elbow to kiss him before grabbing the cup and breathing the steam. “What was Kazui doing out there so early, I wonder.”

“My guess is that he was thinking.”

“He does that from time to time,” she said with a chuckle before taking a sip of her coffee. “Oh god, this is good. I’d say I owe you my soul, but I’m giving you a child, so I think we’re even.” She smiled and took another sip. “Oh, speaking of that, don’t let me have anymore than one cup. It’s not good for the baby for me to consume too much caffeine.”

“He’s bothered by his dad’s death,” Ulquiorra said, sitting down on the bed. He looked at his woman as she sipped from the cup. It was only fair to give her a heads up. “Do I need to get you some teas or make you some lemon water?”

“Not right now, thank you, though.” She smiled at him before she considered what he said about Kazui. “Did he say something specific about Ichigo?”

Ulquiorra nodded. “I think it would be best to talk to him about it. We’re making eggs for breakfast if you want to come down,” he said.

“In a minute. I need to let the coffee work its magic.”

A soft chuckle left him and Ulquiorra stood up. “Well, I’m going to get it started,” he stated. “Enjoy the coffee.”

“Thank you,” she called after him.

“Did she like like the coffee?” Kazui asked as he heard Ulquiorra’s footsteps on the stairs.

Ulquiorra looked at the kid and nodded. “Thank you. Now what do you want for giving me that tip?”

“I want you to let me make the eggs,” came the challenge.

Ugh. The boy knew how to drive a hard bargain. “And if you burn them what am I supposed to do? If I let you play chef, I need a backup plan. There should be some rice leftover. We could have that too.”

The boy scoffed. “I have _never_ burned an egg. Trust me.”

“Fine but I’m going to assist you,” Ulquiorra stated.

A big sigh. “Okay. Do you know how to crack an egg without breaking the yolk?”

Ulquiorra rolled his eyes. “I’ve been alive for a long time. Of course I know how to crack an egg without breaking the yolk. I’m not a heathen.”

Kazui chuckled. “Okay. My mom likes her eggs over easy. Think you can manage?”

“You’re the cook,” Ulquiorra replied with a smirk. “I’m merely observing. That is how I’m assisting. Does your mom let you cook?”

“Fine. And yes, she does. She bakes a lot of mornings, so those days I either have to come down to the cafe or fend for myself,” he said, setting the burner to the desired flame height and putting some butter into a pan.

The man watched the boy for a few minutes before he went to get his coffee cup. It was still warm, and he brought it back to the island and sat down. “Did you ever want siblings?” Ulquiorra asked.

“When I was younger I did. I’m kind of used to it now, though. And I always thought mom would be alone so I didn’t think about it after dad died. Um, did you?” The boy was making conversation, he didn’t have a clue what Ulquiorra was fishing for.

“I never had siblings when I was living. When I was an Espada I never had underlings. Being human means you have to have some interaction between people. Even then, I didn’t want anyone around me.”

“How do you and Eri like your eggs?” he interrupted.

Ulquiorra gave a small shake of his head. He was amazed how oblivious the boy could be. “Uh, scrambled, if you can do that.”

“You got it,” he replied, getting a bowl and cracking eggs into it. “So, if you don’t want anyone around you, why did you have Eri?”

He about choked on the sip of dark liquid in his mouth. “Um, Eriko was a surprise. Her mother and I came together once and then Yuko left. A year later, I met Eri.”

“Yuko. That’s the mean lady from yesterday,” the boy commented as he poured the egg mixture into a pan. “I don’t like her.”

“Yes. I do not like Yuko either. Neither does Eriko.”

Kazui pursed his lips and hummed as he nodded. “So were you always a good dad, or did it take awhile for you to not want to eat her soul?”

Tch. Ulquiorra scoffed at that question. He would never admit the moment he laid eyes on the infant that she became his entire world. “I had to take care of her. She’s my Fraccion. She’s a piece of my soul. I never wanted to eat a human’s soul. I didn’t need to eat.”

“Oh, well, that makes it easier, I guess. I’m almost done; do you want me to wake them up, or…?” the unspoken plea in Kazui’s voice was loud.

“I can go wake them up. You set the table. I’ll go incur the wrath of the female folks,” Ulquiorra said, putting his coffee cup on the counter. He went upstairs again but instead of waking Orihime again, he walked down the hall to his daughter’s room. He glanced at Kazui’s door and noticed the kid hadn’t made his bed. A frown formed on his face. Ulquiorra knocked on Eriko’s door and waited.

“What?” the girl called out, sounding snotty.

“Pardon me?” Ulquiorra said pushing the door open. “Breakfast is ready and I suggest you change your tone.”

“Oh. Sorry,” Eriko said as she flipped the covers back. “I thought you were Kazui.”

Ulquiorra gave her a stern look. “What is your problem with him?”

“Nothing--”

“Bullshit.”

Eriko sighed. “I don’t want to like him. He’s my best friend. Those shows that Sato used to watch always showed--”

“Eri, those shows are just fantasy. Real life isn’t like that,” Ulquiorra stated, crossing his arms over his chest. “Besides, you should be looking more into studies than boys. You need to work hard in school. It’s fine to be friends with boys but that is it. Please get dressed and come downstairs.”

He turned and left the room, walking down the hall to his bedroom. No, it was their bedroom, at least he had hopes that it would be soon. Ulquiorra opened the door and stuck his head in.

“Somebody not a morning person?” Orihime said with her back to him, putting on a bra as she stood next to the dresser.

“Well hello,” he said coming into the room. Ulquiorra walked up behind her and put his arms around her waist. “Are you referring to the tweenage crisis?”

Orihime chuckled and turned her face toward him for a kiss on the cheek. “I am. Somebody trying to get over a confusing, budding crush?”

“She needs to focus on school work, not boys,” Ulquiorra said. He kissed her. “Breakfast is ready and Kazui made the eggs.”

Orihime grinned. “Did he make a big deal about it? He always does.”

Ulquiorra nodded. “He gave me the secret to wooing you in exchange for a chance to show me that he can fend for himself,” the man laughed. “I think we might have our hands full when we finally mesh this all together.”

“It’ll be fine,” she replied, turning in his arms to kiss him. She pulled back and added, “but it won't be if we dawdle and my eggs overcook, so let’s go.”

***

Their morning went on without incident and so too did their trip to the cemetery. Once they were there, the two families went their separate ways, the Kurosakis to Ichigo’s grave and the Cifers to Sato-san’s. 

When they had gotten out of hearing range, Orihime asked Kazui, “So, Ulquiorra tells me you two had a chat this morning.”

The boy nodded but said nothing.

“I think we need to talk about your dad.”

“Why?”

“Because I’ve got a new man in my life. You’re my first priority, though. Either way, it has to be confusing for you--”

“That’s not it, Mom,” Kazui said, in an almost whining tone, before he ran ahead to his father’s gravestone.

Orihime filled the water bucket she had picked up near the entrance of the cemetery at a nearby fountain and watched her son stare at his feet. She frowned as she approached him, but didn’t immediately say anything, first using the provided ladle to pour water over the stone and then stepping back to pray.

After her prayers were completed, she waited for Kazui to finish his, only to find that he was staring off in the other direction. Orihime grabbed a small chocolate bar from her purse and put it in the offering spot, then asked, “What is it, Kaz? Why do you seem angry?”

The boy turned around with tears in his eyes and a frown on his face. “He never said goodbye! He could have, he’s a Shinigami! He could have done it!”

“Oh, oh honey,” Orihime said, stepping toward him and hugging him, despite his initial attempts to get away. “I never told you, because I didn’t want you to be afraid, but Soul Society decided it had to be that way.”

“But he was strong enough. He could have taken the time to come back.”

Orihime didn’t say what she was thinking; that she agreed with him. Instead, she said, “I know it feels that way, but he didn’t have a choice, honey. Aunt Rukia was there with him right after he died. She told me that she did the konso right away.”

The boy scoffed. “Is _that_ why she and Renji and Ichika haven’t been back? They are afraid I’m not going to forgive them. Well you know what? They’re right, I don’t!”

Orihime stepped back from her son but kept her hands on his shoulders. “I understand that you’re angry. It’s okay. It’s okay to feel angry or sad or disappointed. What happened wasn’t fair. It doesn’t feel right. I was mad about it, too. But, Kazui, you have to understand, your dad wasn’t just a powerful Shinigami. He was also--”

“I know about the hollow thing, mom. He’s was just like Cifer— Ulquiorra. It still doesn’t make any sense--”

  
  
“Kazui, listen to me. He wasn’t like Ulquiorra. Someone told me that when I wasn’t there once, while he was training with the Vizards, his hollow tried to take over his body, and your father barely was able to break through. Ulquiorra was… he was a bit like the Vizards but the opposite way. I don’t think he ever lost his mind like that. Anyway, Soul Society didn’t want to risk that happening again after he died. Your father is too strong. I know it’s not fair, but it is what it is. And, most people don’t have the chance to say goodbye to their loved ones after they pass. Look,” Orihime said, guiding her son’s gaze toward Ulquiorra and Eriko. “Eriko’s grandmother died while no one was home. They didn’t have a chance to say goodbye, either. Death is always hard for the survivors, you know?” Orihime felt utterly out of her depth here. She felt like every word that was coming out of her mouth was a lie, despite the general truth. She put her arms around Kazui’s neck and gave him another tight hug. “I’m sorry, Monkey. I wish it had been different, too.”

The boy wiped his eyes and nodded. He knew what she was saying was true. It just sucked. He was mad.

“I’ll let you say your prayer on your own. I’m going to stand under that tree back there,” Orihime murmured to him and let go.

***

Eriko did most of the formalities. Ulquiorra just stood some feet away and watched her. His young daughter pulled a flower out of the small paper shopping bag she carried and laid it on the grave. 

"I know I'm supposed to be praying but I have to talk to you. Dad says he knows you loved your dramas but we can't leave a television here for you. Those guys were always giving the girls roses... Sato-san... Daddy found someone. She's nice. I really wish she was my real mom instead of Yuko," Eriko said as she sat in front of the marker. "Did you ever get to meet Yuko, Sato-san? Dad never talks about her but I finally got to meet her."

The girl sniffled then swallowed. “I hate her. I hate Yuko. It’s not fair. She’s nasty. She’s cold. She has a bad vibe around her. Auntie always said I was a mistake; that I wasn’t your real grandchild; that Dad isn’t your real son. I knew that but from what I’ve read on the internet, family is what you choose and not who you share bloodlines with.”

Eriko sighed unhappily. She glanced back at her dad who was staring off into the distance. “You helped him, Sato-san. He’s a good guy because of you. You helped him be a good dad.”

She sat there in silence thinking of what else she could tell the woman but nothing came. Eriko chewed her bottom lip for a moment.

“Eri? Are you done?” Ulquiorra asked.

Nodding, the girl stood, “I think so. I told her everything I thought she should know. Dad?”

“Hmmm?”

“How come you never pray?”

“What makes you think I don’t? Maybe I come here when I’m alone and do it. Perhaps I stand there while you are talking to her and I tell her what’s going on with me,” Ulquiorra said as they began to walk. “You’re supposed to be praying, not chit-chatting with the dead.”

“Sato-san wouldn’t mind. She loved gossip more than anything.”

“True,” Ulquiorra murmured. He sighed. “Eriko, you know I would never hide anything from you. I would never keep anything from you.”

“Okay?” she said in a questioning tone.

There was a pause as she watched her father take a deep breath. “It’s early, but Orihime and I… I think I’m going to ask her to move in.”

Eriko’s forehead wrinkled. “What? You--She--Kazui--But--”

“Listen to me.” The girl’s stuttering tapered off. Ulquiorra’s fingers started rubbing together. “Nothing will change.”

“But why?”

“Because I love you and I love Orihime. I want to give you the family you deserve,” Ulquiorra said. He looked down at his child and smiled. “Let’s go join Orihime and Kazui.”

***

Orihime’s plan was to go to the zoo and she mentioned it to the kids as the parties reconvened at the entrance of the cemetery. Kazui seemed quietly agreeable to the suggestion. Eriko, on the other hand, was resistant.

“I don’t want to go anywhere. I just want to go home.” The girl pouted and crossed her arms over her chest.

“Eriko,” Ulquiorra warned her. “Stop being a brat.”

“I’m not being a brat! Does Kazui know they’re moving in?”

“No we’re not,” the boy countered, looking at Eriko like she was crazy. Then things started clicking into place in his brain and he looked at his mother in concern, “Are we, Mom?”

“Uh, it’s a bit… I don’t know, it’s not decided?” Orihime looked at Ulquiorra with a pleading expression, mouthing the word, “Help.”

Ulquiorra rarely scowled but when it happened it was scary. He turned and faced the girl. “I said it was a possibility. I suggest you knock it off with this temper tantrum. You are acting just like--” He stopped not wanting to say her mother’s name. “Why is this a problem?”

“Because you’ll love her more! You won’t have time for me! You two will have a baby and push us to the side!” Eriko yelled at her father.

“Eriko,” Orihime piped up, sounding very authoritative, “Your father and I understand that our relationship is going to be a big adjustment for you two kids. We’ve talked about it a lot, and we both want what is best for all of us. We think that we can help each other; make each other stronger; love each other. I know you have not known us very long compared to how long you and your dad have lived alone after Sato-san passed, but I know that I care about you very much. I know that your father loves you fiercely, as I love Kazui. You have to trust us that that will never _ever_ change.”

The pout on her face deepened and Eriko scowled at Orihime. She didn’t care if her dad would get mad at her. “No one asked us. I don’t think either of you thought about Kaz and I when you started this,” she stated.

Orihime was unable to control a short burst of laughter. “Kiddo, you have no idea how much we talk about you two. How much we worry and obsess over how what we do affects you. I know it’s not fair that we get to make the decisions and you don’t, but we are the parents. It’s our job to do that. Isn’t that right, Ulquiorra?”

He nodded. Ulquiorra wanted to take Eriko aside and scold her for what she was saying and her actions but he refrained. He knew that puberty was a difficult thing for humans to go through. “We thought about you, but I am doing what makes me happy and ultimately what is best for me and by extension you. Orihime is right though. We are the parents and we make the decisions.”

“You suck.”

Ulquiorra’s eyes went wide as he stared at Eriko. His mouth opened and closed several times as he tried to formulate some reply to her insult. Finally he just turned and walked away from the three people.

Orihime looked at the girl with disappointment. She said nothing at first, letting the girl experience the consequences of her actions on her own. Instead, she spoke to Kazui. “Is there anything you’d like to say, Kaz?”

The boy had half hidden himself behind his mother, wanting to escape from the conflict. He was surprised when he was addressed. “Oh! Um, well, I mean I already have a room at their house… But what happened to you, Eri? You used to be my best friend. When did you start hating us?” The boy clenched his teeth and looked at the girl with a hard expression. He didn’t want to appear weak.

Truth be told, Eriko’s moods had been swinging wildly since she had gotten her period. She wanted to cry all the time. She was mad a lot. The thoughts inside of her head were becoming hateful and dark for some reason. Her logical brain was disappearing and being replaced with this drama fueled girl. “I don’t hate you. I just don’t understand all of this.”

Orihime sighed. “Nobody expects you to. Nobody expects you to know how to feel about it. It’s not a small thing.” Orihime walked toward Eriko with her palms visible. “Do you need a hug or a minute alone?”

Ulquiorra turned around and looked at Orihime. “No. Do not coddle her. She’s being a disrespectful child.”

Orihime looked at him and then back to the girl and smiled at her before walking toward her father. In hushed tones, she said, “You’re right, she’s being disrespectful, and she should not get away with that. But she’s also frightened; her entire world is about to turn upside down. I’ll leave it up to you.” 

She squeezed his arm affectionately and called to Kazui, “Let’s sit in the shade for a minute, Monkey!” The boy loped over, following his mother to a bench a short distance away.

Ulquiorra looked at his woman and sighed. She was making him feel bad. Orihime was right. His head swung in the direction of his daughter who looked at the ground. “No phone. No television. No dramas. You are to study,” he said to her in a quiet tone. “I have been waiting for Orihime for a long time. Before you were born. Before she was an adult, I had… feelings for her.”

Eriko nodded, still not looking at her dad.

“I am not going to give up this opportunity at happiness just because you weren’t consulted. There is space in my heart for all three of you. My affection towards you will not waver or change. You are my responsibility to nurture and shape into a decent human,” Ulquiorra continued. He hated disciplining Eriko. She looked so hurt after he was done. “Do you have anything to say?”

She shook her head this time. “I will go apologize to Orihime and Kazui.”

Kazui had been mostly quiet as they sat and waited for the Cifers to sort things out, but after a few minutes he looked at his mother and said, “I know that he loves you. I know… I know that he’s not Dad. But, I think he’s nice. I don’t want you to be sad, Mom. I—”

Orihime hushed him up with a bone-crushing hug. “You don’t worry about me. That’s my job.”

“I just wanted to say that I’m okay with moving… If you want to. I miss living in a house,” the boy said in a muffled voice. He wasn’t just putting on a brave face. He still really missed his old house.

Eriko trotted over to the two gingers and looked pitiful. Her father had quietly chastised her. “I apologize for throwing a fit. You’re welcome at and in our home,” she said.

Orihime smiled at the girl. “I know this is a big adjustment. It’s okay to feel confused, just try to remember that it’s a big deal for all of us, okay?” 

Kazui pursed his lips and looked aside silently.

The girl nodded and then bit her lip. She shifted her attention from Orihime to Kazui. “Kazui?” she asked. “I’m sorry.”

“Okay,” he mumbled, kicking his feet back and forth slowly. “I don’t know why you don’t like me anymore, but we can at least get along, right?”

Oh no! No! Why would he think such a thing? Eriko’s eyes got wide as she frowned. She looked at Orihime then back at the woman’s son. “May we have a moment?”

Orihime nodded and got up off the bench and walked to Ulquiorra. Kazui didn’t make eye contact with Eriko as she came closer.

“Kaz, I like you.” Eriko felt nervous as she said this, so she sat down beside him and sighed. “Like, really like you. You’re my best friend.”

“I hope so,” the boy replied, unconvinced. “You know, we used to play all the time and goof off and whatever and now, whenever we come over, you hide in your room half the time.”

Eriko frowned again. He was right. “Puberty and hormones and girl stuff,” she said. “It’s an excuse, but I get angry at little things or I cry over nothing. It’s frustrating, but just think, if you guys do move in, we can play and goof off and make my dad yell all the time.” She turned her head and smiled at him.

Kazui’s eyes widened. “All time time? I don’t want to get yelled at _all_ the time,” he looked at the girl and gave her a small half smile. “You think it would be better?”

She gave him a one-shouldered shrug. “I don’t know. I promise to be a better best friend though.”

“Okay. You wanna go home still, or do you wanna see some penguins?”

“Penguins!”


	22. Chapter 22

“So, Hime-chan, why are you here today?” the bearded man asked, holding a clipboard. Orihime hadn’t told Isshin the nature of her appointment, only that it was necessary that she meet with a physician familiar with their types of special circumstances. She also hadn’t mentioned that Ulquiorra would be accompanying her.

“Well, you see, Isshin…” she trailed off, suddenly at a loss for words.

“We think Orihime is pregnant and need confirmation,” Ulquiorra said, deciding not to delay matters.

The older man nodded. “I understand. Have you taken an at-home pregnancy test?”

Orihime nodded. “It was positive.”

Isshin smiled at her, but it didn’t quite reach his eyes. “Well, then I’d say congratulations, but I understand you’ll want a bit of reassurance first. How long has it been since your last period?”

Orihime tried to think back; she knew the date, but she wasn’t sure how many days or weeks ago that was. “Um, the first of June… Is it too soon to check?”

Isshin shook his head. He looked at a calendar and said, “No, that puts us at almost eight weeks. If we’re lucky… Let’s just try something. Lie back on the examination table and let’s get your belly out.”

Orihime blushed and did as instructed, pulling her shirt up to her ribs and her waistband down to her pubic bone.

A scowl crossed the former arrancar’s face as he stood next to the thing Orihime was laying on. He didn’t like this, but understood it was necessary for whatever these baby appointments entailed. “This won’t harm her, will it?” he asked.

The doctor looked Ulquiorra in the eye for the first time since the couple had entered the office and regarded him for a moment. “No, it won’t, but I think you will be interested in what happens next. Pay attention,” he said with a small smile and a heavy breath. A nod later and the man seemed to have made some kind of decision. “Okay, Hime-chan, I apologize if this is a little cold; I don’t do a lot of these.”

Orihime laughed as Isshin squeezed a blob of clear jelly onto her skin and then took out a plastic wand attached to a cord. The doctor flipped a switch, brought the wand to her skin, and began to move it around. Orihime’s hand fished for Ulquiorra’s blindly as she waited.

The green-eyed man took the woman’s hand. He was filled with apprehension. What was this device called? What was the doctor doing? Answers were needed. He sighed as he watched Isshin work.

“Ah!” Orihime’s father-in-law said, raising his brows, then his face fell. “Lost it,” he grumbled, then continued to move the wand.

“Everything alright?” Orihime asked, tipping her head up nervously.

“Yes, just be quiet, it shouldn’t be--” The older man’s voice stopped, and a smile that caused his eyes to crease at the corners appeared on his face. Not moving the wand, he reached with his other hand to the machine it was attached to and turned a knob. A soft thrumming sound began to amplify through a speaker on it, louder and louder as the knob turned.

Orihime knew what that sound was, and before she could say anything, she whimpered and covered her mouth, tears coming to her eyes.

“What is wrong?” Ulquiorra asked. Fear was threatening to make him panic. The doctor said this wouldn’t hurt Orihime! “Why is she crying and what is that sound?”

Orihime removed the hand from her mouth. “That’s our baby, Ulquiorra,” she squeaked.

Isshin nodded. “That is one healthy heartbeat. Congratulations,” he said softly, looking at the couple and smiling still. It was a bittersweet moment for him.

The words hadn’t sunk in, so Ulquiorra looked from Orihime to Isshin several times. “Our… baby…?” He asked, brow furrowing. Then realization came to him. Oh. Ohhhh. OH. This was rude. They should have picked a different doctor. They shouldn’t have Orihime’s late husband’s father do this and tell them the news. 

“Kazui will be so excited,” Isshin said after a moment. He chuckled softly to himself, adding, “Do you think it would be alright if I was there when you tell him?”

Orihime looked to Ulquiorra for permission before saying anything, but her eyes were pleading. It would mean a lot for both her and Kazui if his grandfather felt a connection to the baby as well.

“Uh,” Ulquiorra said. He didn’t know what to say to this request. It really baffled him as to why Kurosaki’s father would want to be there for the announcement. “I don’t see why not,” he offered.

Isshin grinned then. “Oh,” he sighed again and shook his head. “This is going to be fun.”

“You know you won’t get to throw your stethoscope at this one, Isshin. Ulquiorra is a much more protective father than your son was,” Orihime warned with a watery laugh. 

Isshin snorted. “We’ll see about that,” he said. “Do you want to listen some more? I can give you two a moment, if you want to hold onto this thing, Cifer-san.”

Nerves flared up again as Ulquiorra nodded. “Where do I—just hold it there?”

“Yep, if you lose the sound just wiggle it a little. Use light pressure. Hime-chan will be able to tell you if it feels like it’s in the right spot or not.” With that, the doctor took Ulquiorra’s hand and placed it on the instrument and walked to the door. “Just knock on the door when you are ready for me to come back in.”

Once the other man was gone, Ulquiorra turned back to the redhead. He sighed as he listened to that strange sound. “Well this is certainly… I don’t have… I’m going to murder Urahara.”

Orihime scoffed. “Do you regret it?”

Ulquiorra shook his head. “Never, but he should have warned me about this stuff. I have no clue what this thing is called or what I’m supposed to expect. I don’t know if Goatface is going to strangle me if he gets me alone. I have no clue what to do, Woman.”

Orihime closed her eyes, shaking her head and smiling. “You worry too much. I’m sure Isshin is feeling conflicted, but he wouldn’t lie; he’s happy that Kazui is gaining a sibling. He often told me he thought Ichigo had not lived up to his potential as a Kurosaki male,” she chuckled. “Isshin only stopped at three children because his wife died.”

A frown crossed his face as the sound faded. Ulquiorra had to move the wand in his hand to a different spot. “I wish Sato-san were here for this. She would walk me through every step. Maybe Kurosaki can play the role of grandfather to this one. Babysit for us.”

“You can believe he’ll try, and if you can tolerate him, he will.” Orihime looked at Ulquiorra fondly. “I think Sato-san would be proud of you. She certainly did a good job teaching you how to be a great father. Once Three is here, I’m sure you’ll get right back on the horse, so to speak.”

Once Three was there? Again it felt like Ulquiorra was getting hit by a train or something big. The air was knocked from his lungs. He shook his head. Logic had to be employed. “There is so much to do and so little time to prepare. I have so many questions to ask.”

“You can knock and get him back in here if you want to ask questions,” Orihime offered. Her boyfriend looked like he might pass out. “Do you need to sit down? I can get up and you can lie here if you need to.”

Giving Orihime a stern look, he shook his head. No, he didn’t need to lie down. He needed to know things. He had to have his curiosity sated. After placing the device on the table, Ulquiorra walked over and knocked on the door, opening it slightly and peeking his head out.

Isshin looked up from his desk chair. “So soon?” he smiled. “Got all your kisses and thank yous out of the way already?”

“What? Am I supposed to kiss her and thank her?” Ulquiorra asked, clearly confused.

“I don’t know, son. That’s what I always did,” the larger man said with a shrug as he came to the door.

“I’ll take care of that later. Right now I have questions,” Ulquiorra stated moving back to Orihime’s side.

“Alright. I have some pamphlets for you if you think you’ll need them, and I think I still have your copy of that pregnancy book you donated laying around here somewhere, Hime-chan. I’ll send it back home with you. What questions do you have for me now?”

“Will she be okay? We know that Kaz is a Shinigami, but we have no clue what this child will be. We’re not even sure if Eriko has any power. Will having sex hurt the baby? What about Orihime? Is there anything I need to do for her?” The questions poured from him as he stared at the doctor.

“Slow down, Cifer-san. One at a time. You’re my last appointment today, so you can take all the time you need. As for the first, Orihime should be alright. We’ll need to monitor her health just like any other pregnant woman, but her first pregnancy was very healthy. You’ll be thirty-four when this one is born, right, Hime-chan?”

Orihime nodded.

“No problem. You could probably have a couple more after this one before we would have to start giving her special treatment due to her age.” Isshin paused and waited for what he assumed would be an inevitable follow-up question.

Ulquiorra turned and looked at Orihime. A couple more? That was a thing? He looked at his girlfriend with questions in his eyes. “We will see about that option of more children,” he replied. “What are the chances of this child having some type of power?”

“Fifty-fifty. Same chances of it being a boy or a girl. Same chances of it having brown eyes or another color. If you wanted me to place bet, I’d bet on yes. Just as I’d bet that Eri-chan will at least be as spiritually aware as my Karin, if not more, one day. I’m very much like you, Cifer-san. I’m a soul in a gigai as well. I had three children, and each of them were very different.”

Ulquiorra digested this information silently, rubbing his fingers together. “Will we still be able to have sex? Does that harm the baby?”

“Not at all. I would only advise you to abstain if it causes Hime-chan discomfort. As she gets bigger, you’ll need to get more inventive with positions; her belly will get in the way of the more traditional approaches to love-making--”

“Isshin!” Orihime scolded, her face bright red.

“What?! You’re a beautiful woman, Hime-chan. I’m sure your… I’m sure Cifer-san will still be attracted to you as your pregnancy progresses.”

Orihime had to cover her eyes and imagine she was somewhere else. This was way too embarrassing. Maybe Ishida would have been a better option for this. 

“Okay one more question and I am finished,” Ulquiorra said ignoring the woman’s discomfort. “I know that this child won’t be an extension of your bloodline, but it will have no one but us… Would you be willing to accept Three as a somewhat grandchild? You already treat Eriko like she belongs here.”

“You soft son-of-a-bitch,” Isshin laughed. “You think I don’t consider Hime-chan my third daughter? Just because my idiot son died doesn’t mean that has changed. I love her and her family. If you decide to join it, if you add to it with another child, or more after that, then my family is expanded. I love Eri-chan because Kazui does. And I am, uh, kind of taken with my grandson, if you didn’t notice.” The elder Kurosaki was about three emotional steps away from his raving moments in front of the poster of his late wife, talking on an increasingly dramatic tone.

Ulquiorra smiled at Orihime, then nodded. Her face was still covered by her hand which he removed. “Woman, all is well now.”

Orihime groaned, not quite over the shock of hearing the older man talk about her love life in such a cavalier fashion. “You sure?”

“If I have any further queries, I will correspond by text. So yes, I’m certain we are done.”

“I would recommend you come back in…” Isshin paused and tapped his chin with his forefingers. “In four weeks. I’ll need to ask Ishida a favor, but I think I can get him to lend me an ultrasound machine by then.”

“Ishida? No, I do not want him—“

“You know Ryuken Ishida? I wouldn’t have thought that you had ever met him. He keeps to himself,” Isshin interrupted.

“Oh,” Ulquiorra said, feeling like a scolded child. “I thought you meant his offspring.”

Isshin shook his head. “We don’t want to start another war, do we?” he asked, raising a brow at Ulquiorra before getting a towel and wiping the goo off Orihime’s belly, then pulling her clothes back into place. “Maybe we’ll meet in his office, though. It might be easier to move the equipment within the building than sneak it out and over here.”

Orihime nodded and started to sit up. “It would be better to use the three-dimensional ultrasound as soon as possible.”

Three dimensional ultrasound? That sounded like a scary thing. “Is that anything like those 3-D printers? Will it print Three?” Ulquiorra looked at the doctor then Orihime. This was becoming stressful.

“Three? I hope… Is that what you’ll be naming the baby?” Isshin asked, unable to disguise his distaste for the name.

“No, it’s what we’re calling it until an agreement on a name can be reached,” Ulquiorra answered. 

“Ah, so it’s  _ Baby _ number Three. Gotcha. And no, it won’t print the baby. The 3-D ultrasound will provide a 3-D image of the baby’s features and anatomy so we can make sure everything looks healthy and normal.”

Orihime nodded along. She had used the same machine when she was pregnant with Kazui. The resulting pictures had been extremely accurate, so much so that they had been able to name him before he was born.

That seemed handy. Ulquiorra sighed in relief. “So are we done here?”

“If you’re done I’m do--- Wait, are you taking your vitamins, Orihime? I can write you a prescription.”

“Oh! Yes, if you don’t mind. I bought a small bottle but the over the counter type is so expensive.”

The doctor nodded. “And you remember what you can’t eat? No deli meats either. I don’t remember if that was a thing back your first time around.”

Orihime nodded. She had read about that anyway.

“Good. Any other questions?” the doctor asked as he scribbled on a prescription pad.

Ulquiorra shook his head. “As I’ve said, if any other questions pop up I will text you.”

***

Eriko looked at her dad and then at Orihime and finally at Kazui. “What’s going on?” she asked. “You look nervous.”

“Nothing,” Ulquiorra said. He cleared his throat and glanced at Orihime. The sooner this was over with the better. He was practically twitching to tell the two kids their news.

Orihime smiled at Eriko and chuckled. She was buzzing with excitement but knew that the children would probably react with mixed feelings to the news. At the moment she didn’t care. She was too busy falling in love with her new baby. She looked to Ulquiorra and tugged on his sleeve.

“Hmmm?” he hummed and looked at the woman. Ulquiorra smiled at Orihime. “What?”

“Do you want to?” she offered, an unsure half smile on her lips. Despite her uncertainty she had the aura of someone who could not be anything but ecstatic at the moment. “I can do a video conference with Isshin? Or we could drag them back over there. What do you want to do?” she whispered to him and giggled.

Ulquiorra sighed as he thought about it. What seemed easier? What should they do? “Video conference. I do not want to leave right now. I have a feeling that Eriko might start throwing a fit,” he said quietly to Orihime.

“This way it’s two against two. I’ll call him, you gather the kids on the sofa,” she murmured to him and then kissed his cheek, walking to the other room to call Isshin.

“Okay, you two, to the couch,” Ulquiorra ordered. He followed the kids to the piece of furniture and watched them as they settled down. “Not a peep until I get back.”

As Ulquiorra left the room, Eriko looked at Kazui. “They’re acting strange,” she mumbled.

“Yeah, do you think we did something naughty?” His eyes widened dramatically. “Do you think they know that we took the last piece of cake yesterday?”

“I hope not!” Eriko said. She frowned. No the cake wasn’t the problem. There had been other cake and they took the one that wouldn’t be missed. “What if… What if they’re getting married or they’ve decided to break up or they’ve decided we’re all going to move to England and--”

Kazui interrupted, “England? For real? You’re crazy. We don’t speak any English. And they are  _ not  _ breaking up; did you see how lovey dovey they are acting? They probably are getting married though. I hope so,” Kazui explained, rather content with the idea.

Eriko perked up. “Wait a minute. You mean you do notice that kind of stuff?”

“Well, yeah. My mom is, um, pretty expressive, if you haven’t noticed. And she’s my…” Kazui trailed off, a bit embarrassed.

Well, Eriko knew that the woman was expressive. She could barely contain herself at times and the girl found that she and Orihime had a lot in common when it came to that kind of stuff. Eriko would bounce up and down when she was excited. Sometimes Orihime would do the same thing. “I know she’s your mom.”

“Yeah,” the boy said, grateful that Eriko didn’t press him for what he had almost said. “Anyway, the other thing is, your dad… He almost smiles at her.  _ A lot _ . That is kind of creepy but also kind of nice, I guess.”

The girl nodded. When her dad smiled it was almost creepy. She was going to say something else but Ulquiorra came back into the room. Eriko sat up with her hands in her lap. 

“Are you two ready?”

“Yeah-- Oh, Hi Grandpa! Why are you on the phone?” Kazui looked at his mother with a confused expression and back to the device in her hand, which she passed to him.

“Hi Kazui! Hi Eri-chan!” Isshin boomed over the phone. “I need to see something, that’s why I’m on the phone,” he said with a grin dripping with anticipation.

Kazui screwed his brows together. “Okay… this is weird. What’s going on?”

Orihime was beaming. She couldn’t keep her hands still. They were clasped together, then wrapped around Ulquiorra’s elbow, then one went behind his back as she switched her weight from one foot to the other. She even squealed a bit. “We have something exciting to tell you!” she finally squeaked.

Ulquiorra had a calm expression on his face as he stood with Orihime. It was hard trying to keep her from getting too excited. While they were in the hallway, Ulquiorra told her to tell the kids since she was practically bursting with happiness. He was happy too, but most of his reaction was internalized. 

Orihime took a deep breath. She had thought of many different ways to word this announcement, and she had decided on one that put the kids on the couch first. “Eriko, Kazui, we asked you to sit down because,” Orihime had to take a deep breath and sigh it out before she continued or she was going to pass out. “Because you are going to be a big sister and a big brother.”

Kazui tipped his head in a confused expression as he figured out what his mother meant. His lips echoed the words, “big brother”, silently, and then he was drawn out of his thoughts by his grandfather’s laughter. 

“Sometimes you are a chip off the old block, Kaz! Your mom is pregnant! Go give her a hug!” Isshin shouted in glee.

Kazui’s eyes widened and he robotically got up to hug his mother but said nothing. It still hadn’t sunk in.

Meanwhile Eriko was staring at her father, absolutely livid at this news. They had said no babies. They said that wasn’t something they had to worry about. There were really two ways she could react to this. She could blow up and get yelled at or she could take this anger out quietly. “You lied to us,” she finally said, trying to remain calm.

Orihime hugged Kazui back and then her eyes found Eri’s. She raised one eyebrow. If she wasn’t mistaken, that was spiritual energy radiating off of the child. It wasn’t a lot, but it was there. “Eriko, we didn't lie. We just didn’t know some things. We had been misled,” she said in a calm, firm tone.

“Eriko, you need to calm down.” Ulquiorra stepped in front of Orihime. He could feel a wave of pressure coming off of his daughter. “I requested things that were impossible and Urahara didn’t think I would find anyone, so he did not tell me that he did not modify my Gigai. I would never lie to you.”

“But you did. You said no babies.” Eriko stood up and stared at her dad. “You could have told us about you two being a couple weeks ago.”

Ulquiorra rubbed his forehead. Eriko could be a tedious creature. The girl looked angry and confused at the same time. “Yes, we could have, but we didn’t see a point in it until we were certain we would be together.”

“And?”

“I think having a child together is something that would cement our families together,” Ulquiorra answered.

Orihime frowned slightly. “And whether you like it or not, it has. Forever. So you can be angry about it, Eriko, but question why you are angry. What is it that makes you upset? Take your time and figure it out, then come talk to us about it, because this isn’t going away. We’re all a family now. That goes for you too, Monkey,” She said, looking down at her son. 

His eyes were wet. He still really didn't know how he felt.  “I want to talk to Grandpa for a little while. Can I take your phone up to my room?” Kazui asked, looking at Orihime first, but really asking Ulquiorra. This was still his house.

“Go ahead. We’ll call you back down when we’re done talking to Eriko.”

Kazui nodded absently and left.

Orihime watched him go with a gentle sigh and then looked back at Ulquiorra. “What do you think?”

“I think this is a mess. They were supposed to be happy about this like us.” Ulquiorra sighed and sat down on the couch. Eriko scooted away from him. 

“Can I go up to my room?” she asked.

“No.”

She huffed. “I’m mad because the baby is going to get all your attention. You won’t love me as much.”

The man turned his head and looked at his offspring, brow furrowing as she spoke. “Are you crazy? Did you hit your head at some point? Eriko, you are my number one priority. You are my Fraccion, remember? I would die for you.”

“Why do you have to be so weird?”

“I’m not being weird. I’m being myself,” the man replied. He looked at Orihime.

Orihime was smiling at them both, trying not to cry. She felt very touched by the scene playing out in front of her. “No offense, darling, but you are a bit weird. I love that about you, though,” she murmured. She turned her head more toward Eriko before he had a chance to respond. “Sweetie, I know it seems like your dad is being a bit, um, dramatic, but trust me, he’s not. He would most certainly die for you. Not that I’d let him, but still, he’d try.”

Orihime walked up to the girl and knelt in front of her. “Eriko, I’m not trying to steal your dad. The baby isn’t going to steal him either. We’re all coming together. Our hearts will grow bigger. Our family will grow bigger. There will be more love to go around. We won’t be fighting for scraps. Do you understand what I’m trying to tell you?”

“I’m not giving up my room either.”

This made Ulquiorra laugh. “Is this what this is about? You won’t have to give up anything. If anything we may find a bigger home. Right?”

Orihime smiled and took Eriko’s hands. “We’ll see about that. It wouldn’t be for a long time, anyway. The baby will share a room with your father and me for the first several months, anyway.”

“Okay, can I go upstairs now?”

Ulquiorra nodded.

***

“Are you okay, Kazui?”

The boy sighed, unable to look at the video feed of his grandfather. “I don’t know.”

“What do you mean, you don’t know? This is wonderful news! You’re going to have a brother or sister!”

The boy sighed again, then looked at the phone. “Grandpa?”

“What?”

“It doesn’t…”

“It doesn’t what, Kaz?” The older man asked after a pause.

“It doesn’t make you mad?”

The man’s expression was almost startled. “Why would you think that, Kazui?”

“Because…” the boy’s mouth turned down at the corners and his lip trembled. “Because Dad…”

If there was ever a moment Isshin Kurosaki wished he could teleport without consequences it was now. His heart was breaking for this sweet little soul. “You’re worried about me, Kazui?”

The boy nodded and covered his eyes with the back of his arm as tears slipped out of his eyes.

“Oh, Kazui,” Isshin’s voice took on a warm, soothing tone. “You don’t have to worry about me. I’m so happy for you and your mom. I’m happy for myself.”

“Really?” the boy asked and sniffed a loud, snorty, snotty sniff.

“Really. I get a new grandchild! Two new grandchildren! Your new baby and Eri-chan! And Sakura and Jun and baby Natsumi get two extra cousins and a new uncle. It’s a good thing, Kazui, when your family gets bigger. More people to love you. More people to look out for you and each other.”

“But, they aren’t Kurosakis,” the boy put it out there. There was no use pondering it if he wasn’t going to clear it up, not that the boy was able to understand his motivations.

Isshin laughed. “I’m not a Kurosaki either, boy! My family name is Shiba!” He laughed like Father Christmas until he could barely breathe. “If that’s what you’re worried about, don’t,” Isshin wheezed finally.

Kazui looked at his grandfather with a confused expression. “But, Grandpa, the baby isn’t your  _ real _ grandkid.”

The doctor’s expression grew rapidly serious. “Kazui, I’m only going to say this once, so I want you to listen very carefully, alright?”

Kazui nodded. 

“Family is the people you love. I love you and I love your mother. I loved my son, too, but he is gone. I have your aunts and your mother left. I will never let any of you go. You and your mom are expanding your family with Cifer-san and Eri-chan, and now the new baby. I will welcome them into my family as well. I don’t want you to think that bloodlines are more important than the bonds of family made in love, boy. There are blood relatives who hate each other. We don’t base our relationships on that alone. That’s just silly. Do you understand me, Kazui?”

He nodded again.

“Good. Now I want you to answer a question for me, and I want you to be completely honest. Do you like Cifer-san? Does he treat you and your mother well?”

“Yes,” Kazui answered. “Mom seems really happy.”

Isshin pursed his lips and nodded. “Good. That’s all I needed to know. I’m going to hang up, now. I want you to go tell your mom and Cifer-san congratulations. Give them both a big hug for me, okay?”

Kazui looked horrified but nodded. “Okay, if you say so…”

The boy stared at the phone as the screen went black, then stood and opened the bedroom door. Slowly, like a man approaching the gallows, he walked down the stairs to where is mother and her boyfriend stood between the living room and the kitchen. Without looking up at their faces, he said, “Congratulations,” then hugged his mother. Then he let go, and, staring intently at Ulquiorra’s shoes, he approached the man and put his arms around his waist.

The green-eyed man looked at his girlfriend like a deer caught by headlights. Without thinking he put his arms around the kid and squeezed. “Thank you, Kazui.”

***

It was the first week of August, and the kids were out of school for the summer break, when she got the text message.

_ \- It’s been awhile, Kurosaki-san. Want to meet for lunch this week? _

Orihime smiled at the message. It had been a very long time since she had heard from her Quincy friend.

_ \- Yes, it has been too long, Ishida-kun. Lunch sounds great. How about today? You could come to the shop or I could meet you near the hospital. _

Ishida wrinkled his nose at the idea of running into Riruka again.

_ \- How about the sandwich place across from the station? _

_ \- Make it the noodle place and you’ve got a deal. _

Orihime didn’t think it was any of his business why she was avoiding sandwiches. Although he would probably figure out something was amiss; Orihime was still in her first trimester and the fatigue and sensitivity to smells were becoming daily nuisances. Not only that, but her lips were starting to fill out, despite the new gauntness in her cheeks. 

She was so tired that she decided to drive herself the seven blocks to the station. She parked on a side street and walked over to the noodle place, dabbing her sweaty neck with a hand towel as she stepped into the blessed air conditioning. It was sweltering outside.

“Irasshaimaseeeeee!” a pair of elderly kitchen staff called out to her as she entered the place. 

Ishida recognized her spiritual pressure right away and stood up. “You look lovely as always, Orihime,” he said as he pulled out a chair for her.

Orihime, huh? Apparently old habits can die after all. “Thank you, Ishida-kun, but what’s with the royal treatment?” She laughed as she made the comment.

“Oh, come now, can’t a guy treat a woman with some care without catching heat for it? I know you’re probably not used to it, but you deserve it.”

Orihime scowled lightly. What was that supposed to mean? Whatever. “I heard this place has great cold ramen, so that’s what I’m getting. You?”

“Same.” Ishida called the wait staff over and ordered for both of them, then looked to the woman. “So, how have you been?” he asked, taking a sip of ice water and looking her over.

“Tired. The heat and lack of energy… But I’m alright. You?”

Ishida pushed his glasses up. “Are you unwell, Orihime? Have you seen a doctor about your fatigue?”

“Yes, it’s nothing bad, trust me,” she responded, blushing and looking down with a small grin.

“I talked to Riruka awhile back. I really don’t like her.”

Orihime’s eyes snapped up.

“Are you still seeing the Espada?”

It sounded almost like an accusation. She decided to play it cool, though. “I am. Things are progressing nicely,” she smiled at took a sip of water. “How did you know he was an Espada?”

Oops. That’s right, Uryu had played dumb about Ulquiorra’s identity the last time they had spoken. Orihime was looking at him through narrowing eyes. “Uh, I spoke with Urahara.”

“Really? So you really never met Ulquiorra before?” Orihime asked sweetly.

“No, can’t say that I have,” Ishida responded with a lazy stretch and a grin, leaning back into his chair.

Orihime nodded. She couldn’t shake the suspicion that he was lying, but she decided to ignore it as well as she could. She smiled at her old friend and asked, “Well, enough about me, what’s new with you?”

“I like someone.”

Oh, that was a pleasant surprise. Orihime grinned and leaned forward. “Who is it?” she asked in an excited whisper.

“You,” the doctor replied confidently. “I think that if you give me a chance, I’ll be able to steal your heart away from that hollow.”

***

Eriko and Kazui were going through their kendo exercises while Ulquiorra watched them and silently corrected their posture or form. He studied his daughter for a moment before turning to the boy. It had been a little less than two weeks since he and Orihime revealed their surprise. Kazui was taking it well. Eriko was still displeased.

Ulquiorra knew the girl was going through puberty or whatever but her emotional outbursts were ridiculous at times. He had to stop himself from screaming at her for crying or acting like a child. It was frustrating being a father to a teenager.

It was cool in the shaded yard, but still the heat was pressing. He sighed. It was probably the heat that was making him irritable. He didn’t like Orihime working. She was pregnant and looked exhausted. Certain foods would make her gag and run to the bathroom.

The whole situation made Ulquiorra feel bad, but Isshin had assured him that this kind of stuff was normal. Orihime would be fine

“Can we stop Dad?” Eriko said. She was sweating. “I’m sure Orihime wouldn’t like it if she came back and her two favorite people were piles of sweat.”

“You’d soak into the ground before she would come home. What are you going to do if you stop?” Ulquiorra asked.

“Go to the pond and go swimming?”

He looked at his daughter who was staring at him. “Fine. You and Kaz can go.”

***

“Excuse me?!”

“It’s the truth, Orihime. You know it. You and I have more history. We have more in common. If Kurosaki had never been in the picture—“

The doctor was interrupted by a server setting down two servings of cold noodles. Orihime’s lip curled. If she wasn’t so hungry she would have left. She took a huge bite, then another, and then another. As she ate she thought about the situation. It would be a shame to throw away a decades long friendship because of Ishida’s misplaced advances. Maybe if she nipped this in the bud the friendship could be salvaged.

Orihime swallowed her fourth bite and replied, “Maybes and what ifs are for time travelers, Ishida-kun. What happened, happened. And you will not succeed in your current plan of action, so I suggest you drop it and throw your line elsewhere. I’m in love with Ulquiorra. You don’t have to like it, but you must respect that or we’ll have to keep our distance until you can.”

Ishida just smirked and mumbled through bites, “We’ll see about that.”

“You  _ will _ see, Ishida-kun. Very soon.”

“What’s that supposed to mean,” the bespectacled man said, turning to look at Orihime with a raised brow as she gobbled her last bite of noodles.

“It means you  _ will see _ . I am with Ulquiorra now and there is nothing anyone can do to break that bond at this point.”

Uryu’s eyes darkened. Nothing? Hardly. “I guess I will. Are you leaving so soon?”

Orihime nodded. “Work to do. Have a nice day.” She couldn't truly say it had been nice to see him. She got up and returned to the steaming hot summer day and texted Ulquiorra.

_ \- What a day. Just had lunch with Ishida. Remind me to tell you about it later. He’s a dick. Want me to bring home some leftovers for dinner? _

He had gone inside and sat at the kitchen island. Ulquiorra wasn’t used to having nothing to do. There was always something for him to do. So when he got Orihime’s text it was a welcome distraction. He decided to call her. It would take his mind off the worries that rolled around his brain and the fact that he was feeling uneasy.

“Woman? You didn’t tell me you were having lunch with him,” Ulquiorra said when she picked up the call.

“No, it was spur of the moment,” she sounded winded as she walked toward the shop from her parking spot, despite the short distance.

“So what happened? The kids went swimming and I’m just sitting here… Nothing else to do.”

“The shop is busy or I’d come home. Anyway, this isn’t really a great topic for a phone call, but the long and short of it is he thinks he can come between us. I informed him in no uncertain terms that he could not. It was not pleasant.”

Ulquiorra huffed. No wonder he was feeling uncomfortable. Things weren’t right. “Fine. I’ll be coming to Karakura shortly. I’ll have words with Ishida and then I can come help you. This is not a discussion, Orihime.”

Orihime sighed. Sometimes her boyfriend was more like her late husband than either of them would ever care to admit. “I told him, Ulquiorra. I told him that if he was going to disrespect our relationship that he would have to stay away from me. You’re welcome to do as you please, but I don’t want you to think I didn’t stand up for us.”

“I don’t think that. I heard what you said. That man has been after you since Hueco Mundo. I left you in his capable hands, hoping he wouldn’t--” Ulquiorra trailed off. He needed to calm down, feeling the spike of spiritual pressure. “I need to tell him for myself.”

“I understand. I love you.”

He hung up and then went back outside to inform the kids where he was going. Ulquiorra told them to go back inside after an hour. It did not take him long to drive to Karakura Town. He parked near the hospital before walking to the building. “I need to see Doctor Uryu Ishida,” he told the person at the front desk.”

“Do you have an appointment?” a daffy old lady behind the counter responded in an ancient voice.

He shook his head. “Tell him that Ulquiorra Cifer is waiting to speak to him about a matter, I’m sure he will make time. I need thirty seconds.”

The woman got on the phone and announced the visitor, mangling his name. “Doctor Ishida will see you now,” she said, getting up and hobbling her way to a locked door. “His office is third on the left.”

Ulquiorra nodded and followed the woman’s directions. When he got to the door, he didn’t bother knocking; he just barged into the office. “Ishida,” he stated.

“Cifer,” came the guarded reply. The doctor did not look up from his paperwork, though.

Green eyes narrowed at the man as Ulquiorra slammed his hand down on the desk. “How dare you try to solicit my woman! Orihime will not leave me. I won’t allow it. You sat around too long.”

“Oh? You won’t  _ allow  _ it? Who do you think you are, Espada? Orihime can decide for herself,” the man responded snidely.

“Who do I think I am? I’m Orihime’s future. I will be there for a long time. I will be helping her raise children. I will be the one helping her through the rest of her days,” he replied. Ulquiorra then scoffed. This guy had no clue how much anger he was holding back.

“She may think differently when she learns who you really are.”

Another scoff followed by a bitter chuckle. “Are you going to tell her how you and Kurosaki decided to play with her memories? Even if you succeed, I’m still going to be around. I will always be a part of her life.”

“How do you figure?”

“C’mon Ishida. You’re supposedly the best at detecting spiritual pressure,” Ulquiorra said. He spoke the words in a mocking tone. “Didn’t you notice something strange with Orihime’s? Anything seem off about her?”

“She… You didn’t…” he finally looked up in disbelief.

“She’s pregnant.”

“Get out.”

Ulquiorra’s mouth twitched as he fought back a smirk. He nodded and turned, leaving the office. That was one battle he had won. He decided to text Orihime as he left the hospital.

_ \- Ishida is unhappy with me. Actually, unhappy may be an understatement. _

_ \- what do you mean? _

The teacher sighed. This wasn’t a conversation to have through text messages.

_ \- I’ll talk to you in a few minutes. I’m not that far away. _

Ulquiorra rarely used the powers he had. It didn’t seem right to use them since he was mostly human. His Sonido was almost silent as he took a step before finding himself in front of Halcyon. Before he walked into the building, Ulquiorra sighed. He left his car at the hospital. He had used his powers when he could have just driven over to the place due to impatience. He pushed the door open and walked into the cafe.

“Hi!” Orihime called to him as she approached. “So tell me all about it?”

“You did not inform him you were with child?” Ulquiorra asked as he came to a halt in front of the redhead. He tilted his head and looked at Orihime. “We need to talk about something.” 

“No, I didn’t. I didn’t want him to blow up while I was sitting next to him. What do we need to talk about?” she asked softly; his expression was making her nervous.

He sighed, not sure of what her reaction would be to his claim. What if she didn’t believe him? What if the truth made her leave? “You should sit down for this,” Ulquiorra replied, leading her over to a table.

“Okay now you’re making me nervous, Ulquiorra. Should we go upstairs for this conversation? Am I going to cry?”

“No, but please understand this is what Ishida has told me. Your memories? Your husband and Ishida conspired to rid you of anything that reminded you of me.”

Orihime’s brows knit together. A hard breath blew out of her nostrils as her eyes searched the wood grain pattern of the table. “What? Why? How?” Her hands trembled as she looked at Ulquiorra. “How is that even possible?” She sounded breathless. 

“I’m not certain.”

No. It didn't make sense, she thought, shaking her head again and leaning backward. “Why would they  _ do _ such a thing?” The tone of her voice conveyed hurt and Ulquiorra could see by looking at her that she did not want this to be true.

He reached across the table and grabbed Orihime’s hand. “I caused terrible things to happen to you. What I did was horrible. What your husband did was horrible,” Ulquiorra said.

“No.” Orihime shook her head back and forth quickly. “No. You would never hurt me, Ulquiorra. I know it,” she said, squeezing his hand and looking into his eyes for truth. She could see that he wasn’t lying, but that didn't give her much comfort.

“I threatened you, as an Espada, Woman.”

She exhaled heavily. “But you worked for Aizen, so you had to, right? Besides, threats are one thing. You told me we had “a thing” in Hueco Mundo. Surely that means you never hurt me, at least not intentionally.”

Ulquiorra looked at her and frowned. He did not understand how she could take this information so calmly. “I allowed other Arrancar to harm you. I threatened to tie you down and force you to eat. I’m the bad guy Orihime.”

“No. That doesn’t make any sense. Why would Ichigo and Ishida want to erase my memory of you if you were nothing but a bad guy? Aizen was a bad guy. Nnoitra was a bad guy. They didn’t try to erase my memories of them.”

“None of them were in love with you. None of them fought your husband while he was a Vasto Lorde. I am the only Espada to fight Ichigo Kurosaki when he was fully hollowfied.”

“A Vasto Lorde?” Orihime almost smiled; it was ridiculous. Then she blinked. White claws. She opened her eyes. Halcyon Cafe and Gifts. She blinked again. A scream; something between an elephant and a lion, full of blind, primal, killing intent. She opened her eyes. Ulquiorra’s human face. Blink. Long orange hair, horns, and a mask. No. No. No no no no no no. Orihime climbed around the table to Ulquiorra and into his lap. “He’s going to kill you. You have to leave. Don’t let him cut you, Ulquiorra!” she whimpered in a tight, terrified voice, hiding her eyes in his body.

Her frightened state caused his arms to tighten around her. Ulquiorra rubbed his hand over her hair and her back, trying to calm her. The shock of her words made him panic slightly. Was it that easy to break this hold that was on her memories? “Shhhh, Orihime. He’s gone. Ichigo’s gone. He can’t hurt you. He can’t hurt me. Ishida can try, but he won’t get far.“

Her memories were not so much clear replays of past events, but rather still pictures, isolated sounds, sensations, or feelings. They came to her bit by bit; not in order, and not all at once. It was patchy and it was already starting to fade away. “I was so… I was so sad, Ulquiorra.” Her fingers found his face and she held it as she came back to the present, her eyes glued to his, the only remaining memories being Ichigo’s mask and her horrible grief. Her eyes were wet and tears flowed freely over her cheeks. “You.”

“What about me?” he asked, bringing a hand up to wipe one side of her face. He didn’t like to see her in such agony.

“You. It was you. You were there. You were there and then you were gone. There was nothing left. Nothing,” she choked and threw her arms around his neck, sobbing without regard to her surroundings or customers. She held on tightly and cried. “You were gone,” she repeated in a harsh whisper.

“I know. I know, Orihime. I came back to life though. I’m here now with you,” he said trying to comfort her, still rubbing her back. “I am here now. I’m alive. When is the last time you slept?”

It seemed an odd question. “Last night,” she answered, sniffling and slightly confused.

He stared at her for a moment. “Did you actually sleep or toss and turn? Maybe I’m keeping you up at night,” Ulquiorra said. “You look exhausted.”

She shook her head. “That’s just the pregnancy. I’m growing a new organ as well as a baby. In a few weeks the placenta should be done and I’ll stop looking like a zombie and getting sick all the time,” she answered in an information-dump style of communication. “I don’t want to sleep without you.”

His eyebrows rose as she talked. Ulquiorra knew she was growing a human but he didn’t know about this placenta thing. He sighed, knowing he’d probably read up on that when he got back to the house. “I don’t want to sleep without you either. If I can help in any way, please let me know.”

It was Riruka who spoiled the intimacy of their moment. “You can start with taking out this trash,” her annoyed voice interrupted them as she pushed a bag toward Ulquiorra, “And telling your girlfriend to pipe down; she’s scaring off customers. Why’s she so clingy and whiny, anyway? Oh, don’t tell me you asked her to marry you, ew.”

Ulquiorra scowled at Riruka and ignored her offering of trash. “You haven’t told her yet, have you?” he asked Orihime quietly.

“I haven’t told anyone besides Isshin and the kids,” she said, shaking her head. “It’s not just my news.”

“Orihime, I don’t have anyone to tell this news to,” Ulquiorra replied before kissing his girlfriend. “If Sato-san hangs around I’m sure she already knows about it. I do not like her, by the way.”

Orihime sighed. “Can’t say that I blame you. Let’s tell her now? That way we’re two against one.”


	23. Chapter 23

Ulquiorra looked up at Riruka with a glare. “My girlfriend is allowed to be clingy. She’s gestating a human.”

“You’re doing what? Do you have to do it down here?” Riruka said, wrinkling her nose in disgust.

“I’m pregnant, Riruka. If all goes to plan, we’ll be having a baby on or around March seventh,” Orihime said with a flat inflection.

“Oh,  _ great _ . So you’re going to be busy with a baby and I’ll have to run this place on my own. That’s just  _ super _ .” The pink-haired woman slammed a menu down on the counter and stormed away.

Again anger surged through Ulquiorra and he hissed. “Get up, Orihime,” he said.

Orihime has been stunned at Riruka’s reaction and was slow to respond to Ulquiorra. After a couple seconds, she started to stand and said, “What do you want to do?”

“You’re going to stay here. I’m going after that bitch and having several words with her. Then we’re going home. You’re under too much stress at the moment to be dealing with all of this,” Ulquiorra answered. He helped the redhead to her feet and then stood. “I really dislike her.”

Orihime just nodded. She had been through too much today. 

He stalked after the pink-haired woman, quietly seething until they were behind the closed door of the kitchen. “What the hell is your problem with Orihime? What is your problem with me? Are you so fucking lazy that you shirk responsibility?” He asked.

“What about  _ her  _ responsibility? To this shop? To Kazui? To me?” the pigtailed woman snapped, spinning around to face off with Ulquiorra.

“She knows she has responsibilities. She does a fine job of upholding those. You are the one who runs away at the slightest hint of them. She is not responsible for you. She does not answer to you. Do you want me to buy out your interest in this place? I could relieve you of that responsibility,” Ulquiorra sneered at her, hands forming into fists. This was not how he wanted today to go.

The woman’s angry expression dropped along with her jaw, leaving her mouth hanging open a bit. “You— You could do that?”

Ulquiorra continued to scowl at her. His finances were none of Riruka’s concerns. “I’m smart with my money. I’m sure I have enough to do that.”

Riruka jutted put her chin, cocking it to one side and smiling with a hand on her hip as she regarded Ulquiorra. After a moment, she replied, “Then where the hell do I sign?”

His expression deepened. “I’ll find a lawyer to draw up a contract,” Ulquiorra said. He studied the pink-haired woman for a moment, wondering what her motive for this was. Was she really that lazy that she didn’t want to work? “I still would like to know what your issue is with Orihime. She doesn’t deserve to be treated like shit. You treat everyone like they’re garbage. Whatever your problem is, get over it.”

She rolled her eyes. “I’m sorry that I’m not mesmerized by her boobs and big innocent-act eyes. She’s not the princess everyone treats her as. So she’s smiley. So her perfect husband died. So what?! Why does she get all the sympathy and attention?”

“She is _my_ fucking princess!” Ulquiorra shouted. He was tired of people treating Orihime poorly. “Maybe if you didn’t act like a twat, people would give you the attention you want. Act like a decent human, Riruka, or go fuck yourself. As soon as this is all finalized, you will not be allowed back into this cafe.”

“Oh I plan on getting out of this hellhole of a town as soon as possible. I only got involved with this company because I thought Ichigo would be dropping in all the time. These past two years have been bullshit.”

He scoffed. “I see. You had the hots for Ichigo and he never looked at you,” Ulquiorra said. He shook his head. The people in this town were ridiculous. He turned and walked out of the kitchen, returning to Orihime.

“What happened?” she asked with a worried expression. She had heard the shouting in from the other room but couldn’t make it out.

Ulquiorra shook his head. “Don’t worry about it right now. I want you to sit there and tell me what needs to be done in order for you to go home for the rest of the day.”

“Oh, um, I need to do payroll, so I need the time cards and the laptop; then I need to make sure the plants are all watered and the merchandise is dusted. Um, check the napkin dispensers and the sugar dishes; um… The rest Satomi and Riruka can handle, right Satomi?”

The part-time girl smiled bigger than she had in weeks and nodded. She had overheard Ulquiorra and Riruka’s conversation and was delighted that the nasty woman might be moving on.

The man followed her instructions and had everything handled except the payroll things. He looked at Orihime. “What would you say to me becoming your business partner?”

“Usually I’d say don’t mix business with pleasure, but hypothetically speaking, I think you’re the type of person who can handle having designated roles in designated spaces. Why do you ask?”

“I’ve offered to buy Riruka out.”

Orihime looked gobsmacked. “You-- Wha-- How much?” She had no idea what Riruka would demand for her share of the business. She only knew how much she had put up front, and it wasn’t a small amount. Three and a half million yen was not a small chunk of change, and the business had definitely increased in value over time.

“I have no clue. I don’t know what she paid, but it’s clear she doesn’t want any part of this. She does nothing to contribute around here,” Ulquiorra said with a sigh. “She could be hurting your business.”

Orihime raised her brows and nodded with a small sigh. She had seen with her own eyes how Riruka increasingly drove business away. “I’m almost done here and then we can go home.”

“Are you sure there’s nothing else I can do for you?” Ulquiorra gave her a smile before looking around the cafe.

“No. Oh, could you go upstairs and check that I didn't leave anything on?”

He got up and went over to the door that would lead him upstairs. When he got to the landing, Ulquiorra stood there for a moment. Somehow things had gotten messy and tangled, but there was nothing he could do to fix it at the moment. There was no magical button that would rewind time. After he took a couple seconds to freak out, Ulquiorra went into the apartment.

The phone was ringing when he opened the door, and after the second ring the answering machine picked it up. After a message instructing the caller to leave a message played, a familiar voice came over a speaker.

“Orihime, why are you avoiding my calls? We have to talk about this. He’d probably say anything to make you believe him over me, but please, Orihime. I know about the baby. It’s not a problem. Just call me, okay?” A click and a dial tone and the call ended.

His eyes went to the machine, once again scowling. It figured Ishida would do this. Ulquiorra brought his phone out and pulled up the voice message app. It wouldn’t be hard to record the message and then play it back for the redhead. The only thing that stopped him from doing it was the fact that Ishida’s voice was fucking annoying and whiny. 

Instead of recording the message, he called Orihime, although she was right downstairs.

“Hey, is there a problem up there?” Orihime answered.

“Ishida called and left a message,” Ulquiorra said. “Do you want to listen to it?”

Orihime groaned. “Do I need to? I imagine there is nothing worth listening to. Use your discretion, you can delete it if it’s garbage.”

“No, I think you should listen to it.” With that, Ulquiorra pressed the button that would play the message and made sure he was close enough to the machine that she could hear it. When it finished playing, the green-eyed man said, “Why wouldn’t the baby be a problem?”

Orihime scoffed twice, the second time more offended than the first. “He probably means to convey that he would have a big enough heart to allow me to keep it should I come to my senses and choose him over you. As if!” Another scoff. “Delete it. Ishida needs to get his head checked. Also, I know he’s lying.”

“What? What do you mean? I’m going to kill him. I should have done it years ago instead of just tearing his wrist off,” Ulquiorra muttered in annoyance. He did as she said to do and deleted the message. “This is bullshit. Ishida’s trying to woo you. Riruka’s pissed off because your late husband never paid any attention to her. The people you’ve surrounded yourself with have issues.”

Orihime cleared her throat. “Myself included, if we’re going to be fair. My little episodes are far from normal. But back up a second, did you say you ripped off Ishida’s wrist?”

“It happened on the dome, Woman. It’s one of those things they made you forget.”

“That  _ asshole _ . I knew he was lying! He swears he has never met you. I asked him about it on two separate occasions and both times he denied any knowledge of you, and today he said he only knew about you because of Riruka and Urahara! I knew he was lying! I knew it!” She was upset. How could Ishida lie to her? 

Honestly, Ishida was receiving all of her ire, including that which belonged to Ichigo. He just wasn’t around to lash out at. Orihime didn't have any sympathy for the Quincy, though. It was one thing to lie. It was another thing to perpetuate a lie.

“I met Ishida in that tower in Hueco Mundo. He used those Quincy arrows against me, trying to stop me from stopping you from healing Kurosaki. You were trying to bring your husband back to life, rejecting the damage I had done to him.”

She was curious. “What did you do to him?”

“Orihime,” Ulquiorra warned. This wasn’t something that they should be discussing at the moment. It wasn’t something that should be discussed over the phone. “As soon as you’re done, come up here and we will talk.”

Orihime hummed her consent. “I’ll be there in about ten minutes. Make yourself comfortable. There’s tea in the fridge,” she said before hanging up and finishing her task.

About ten minutes later, she stood at the front door, trying to pry it open. In the heat and humidity the door had expanded and she was having a harder time than usual. “Ulquiorra,” she whined when it wouldn’t budge. She didn't have the power in her today to wrestle it open.

He was instantly on the other side of the door, nudging it open as soon as he heard her voice. When she hung up on him she sounded irritated, but he knew it wasn’t directed at him. It was due to Ishida. When the door swung open, Ulquiorra looked at his girlfriend, before pulling her into the apartment and kissing her.

Orihime’s eyes widened in response but she had no objection to this, and she quickly melted into him, sighing against his lips in contentment. Her hands slid up his back as she leaned her body into his and closed her eyes. She would be happy to get lost in his kiss for the rest of the day.

“You need to get comfortable. I would suggest the bedroom so you can lie down and relax,” he said as he straightened his body, breaking the kiss. “I’ll answer your questions then.”

She was disappointed to break the contact so soon, but he was right. “Okay, bedroom it is. We’ve never really hung out in there, anyway,” she said, leading the way and stripping out of her apron and skirt on the way. Once inside she pulled a pair of comfortable shorts out of one of her drawers, put them on and sat on the bed. “So, you were going to answer my question about what you did to Ichigo?”

“I said to lie down,” Ulquiorra said as he sat down on the other side of the bed. “There’s a reason why we don’t hang out in here. It feels weird… Kurosaki and you; the idea… I killed him. I blasted a hole through his chest with a Cero because he wouldn’t stop. He wanted to take you away from me.”

“Well, I’ll admit that it wasn’t very nice to kill him but, I mean, it was a war and you were on opposing sides. Anyway, why does this room feel weird? He was never here.” Ulquiorra had already told her that he had killed Ichigo twice. He also said that she had revived him. That and the fact that Ichigo survived the war and Ulquiorra didn't made this information less than traumatizing.

“I know he was never in here but this bed. You and him--I don’t want to disrespect the memories you have of him,” Ulquiorra replied, studying Orihime for a moment. He didn’t want to tell her the reason why he felt uncomfortable was because of the fact that Orihime and her late husband probably had sex in this bed. The idea didn’t sit well with him. He rubbed his forehead for a moment before he answered her other question. “I, uh, killed him because he was going to take you away from me. He thought he could win. He thought he could defeat me.”

Orihime’s hand reached out for him and her fingers went between his. “And why did you care that he was going to take me away if you thought he couldn’t win? I’m not trying to say you shouldn’t have cared or anything, but you  _ were _ a hollow, loyal to Aizen. I’m just trying to understand.”

His brows furrowed. He knew this answer. He said he would never admit to it though. Ulquiorra opened his mouth and decided it was time to face his decisions; to come to terms with things that he realized on the dome of Las Noches. “You made me curious. You made me want you. You made me have a heart. You made me fall in love with you. I didn’t realize this until I was dying, of course.”

Orihime’s eyes pressed closed and a pained expression pulled down the corners of her mouth. She squeezed Ulquiorra’s hand. “Did I love you?” It killed her to imagine that she did and was unable to remember it.

“No. You were stuck on Kurosaki and your five lifetimes.”

For some reason his words struck her like a punch to the gut. She let go of his hand and laid her arms over her belly. “I’m sorry,” she whispered, looking toward the window. She felt ashamed.

“Not your fault, Woman. I was a hollow. I was the worst sort of creature.”

“And yet, your death devastated me. I can remember… I can’t remember you. I can’t remember you dying, but I can remember the grief I felt when you were gone. I can recall the bitter taste in my mouth and the ache in my belly. I can remember how oppressive your absence was. You were gone. I remember feeling…” she trailed off, her memory blocking further access to her feelings at that time.

Ulquiorra gathered her into his arms, holding Orihime. He felt conflicted for a moment. Was she feeling that way for him or for the memory of Tsukishima? He frowned. Maybe being around him was helping to chip away at that mental block she had. “I can see why Ishida doesn’t want me with you. I understand that I’m the bad man. I’m the villain. I took you from them. I made it seem like you were a traitor. I tried to brainwash you into thinking Aizen was some kind of god. I let others hurt you. I don’t know why I was brought back to life. That’s something that has baffled Urahara since I showed up seventeen years ago.”

“Seventeen years is a long time, Ulquiorra. Maybe not to hollows or shinigami, but to humans it’s a long time. And you have been living as one, so I’m sure you know. Anyway, a lot can change in seventeen years. You’re not a bad man or a villain now. Maybe you were purified. Maybe you were not really killed, but, like, went dormant and metamorphasized. Who knows? All I know is that I love you. I love you and I don’t care if Ishida doesn’t like it. We’re a family and he can’t come between us.”

A long exhale left Ulquiorra. It was a relief hearing Orihime say those words. Weight lifted off his shoulders and he chuckled at her made up word. “I love you, Woman. I’m happy with you. I want to spend the rest of my life beside you,” he said. His fingers tilted her head up and he kissed her again, gently this time.

Her eyes fluttered shut as he kissed her, and a feeling of peace settled over her. When he pulled back and his breath washed over her face, her eyes opened again and found his. “I’m happy with you, too. I only see one future, and it’s with you and the kids.” She smiled and kissed him again. “And when the kids are grown and move on, it’ll be you and me, right?”

“You and me, all alone. We’ll go somewhere nice and have a long holiday,” Ulquiorra smirked. He liked seeing the look of content on her face. He liked seeing Orihime at ease. It quieted his mind. “I still want to murder Ishida. How dare he even--Ugh.”

Orihime giggled and tapped him gently on the nose. “Do you remember Ishida from back then? He hasn’t changed a bit. He has always been high and mighty. He’ll realize he’s wrong soon enough and then he’ll slink away to lick his wounds. He will never apologize, either. He’ll try to find some justification to explain away his actions.”

A relaxed sigh left her as she burrowed her nose into the hollow of his neck. “You smell so good, even on a sweaty day like today. How do you manage that?” She murmured after taking a long sniff and then settled down close beside him, one of her legs finding its way between his at the knee. She smiled and nearly drifted off to sleep when her pocket started buzzing. She groaned and pulled her phone out, thinking it might be the kids.

Uryu Ishida.

“Oh my god!” she grumbled. “He just won’t quit. I am not up to this today,” she said, tossing the phone a couple feet down the bed.

Ulquiorra tried not to get angry but he was really getting irritated at the Quincy. “I have half a mind to fuck you silly and then have you call him while riding my cock. I won’t because that’s not polite and those sounds are for my ears alone, but I am really annoyed by his actions.”

“Me too! I thought he was a friend. If he’s really just been waiting in the wings for an opportunity, then I am very disappointed,” she grumbled. “Should I tell him that I am moving in with you? I know we did not technically decide yet, but maybe he’ll back off.”

A fuzzy feeling went through his chest as he heard her say that. He wished they could come to a decision about moving in with each other. So far neither of them had confirmed that’s what they wanted to do. “Are you going to move in with me? You should only tell him that if it’s true. If he finds out that you deceived him then he might double his efforts in trying to sway you from me.”

“Are you asking me to move in?” So far it had only been a hypothetical discussion; no official offers had been made.

“I would like you to, but I know it would be a huge change for all of us. We’re practically living together now,” Ulquiorra replied. He looked at her for a moment. “How many mornings have I woken up next to you?”

“A lot, but still not enough,” she replied with a small smile. “You don’t sound ready for this step, though.”

He was quiet. Was he ready for this step? He knew he wanted her there with him. Ulquiorra didn’t like it when she stayed at her apartment. It was rare now, but it still happened. “It’s not that I’m not ready for it, Woman. I want you to be sure that’s what you want. I want you and Kaz there all the time. I want your things at my home. I want it to be our home.”

“I’m ready. I’m ready for the photo in my drawer to go into an album for Kazui.” She knew he knew it was in there. “I’m ready to use the frame for a picture of the four of us. I’m ready to have this place just be for storage, or to rent out. My heart is with you, Eri, and Kazui. Not here. And Kaz is beyond ready,” she laughed.

“Then we shall make if official,” he stated. It seemed like the natural thing to do. Sure it wasn’t the slow progression of a relationship he was used to when he was a human the first time, but this was the present and he had to get with the times, so to speak. “We will move your belongings into our home.”

***

Orihime was nervous as she laid on the examination table in Ryuken Ishida’s office. Isshin was on pins and needles, anxiously asking when the ultrasound technician would arrive over and over again. The white-haired doctor ignored him, focusing on the paperwork on his desk.

Once again, Orihime sought out Ulquiorra’s hand. It had been busy for them the past two weeks, moving her and Kazui’s things to their new shared residence in Naruki City. They were done, for the most part. They just had to decide what to do with the furniture in the old place. Orihime was on the fence; thinking it might be nice to use it as an Airbnb place so that they could use it if they ever got stuck in Karakura. She also loved that roof. Still, she owned the building. She could just not allow a renter access to the roof and use it for herself. These thoughts occupied her mind as she waited.

She was drawn out of those thoughts as a soft spoken young woman rolled a tray in next to the large machine they had set up in the office. “Hello, you must be Kurosaki-san. My name is Hayumi Kikuchi and I will be performing your ultrasound today. Have you had one before?”

Orihime nodded. “It has been a while though, so any information is appreciated.”

The other woman nodded and looked around the room. “I recognize Dr. Ishida, of course, but who else do we have here? Is this dad and Grandpa?”

“Yes, I’m the father,” Ulquiorra said quietly. He wasn’t sure what to expect, although Isshin assured him this wouldn’t be painful for Orihime.

Isshin grinned and nodded at the tech. “Let’s get started! I’m too excited”

The woman smiled and pulled up Orihime’s shirt and pulled down the sheet covering her lower half as she had done for Isshin, then squirted some, mercifully, heated gel onto her belly and turned a switch on for her machine. She entered a bit of information and asked, “So we’re at twelve weeks now, right? Still feeling tired all the time? Sick?”

Orihime shook her head. “In just the past week I have been feeling much better.”

“Good. Watch out for dizziness from now on, though. Your hormones are going to open up your blood vessels for the baby and you might feel a bit faint from time to time. Okay, now I’m just going to push around here; it might be a little uncomfortable, but I promise it’s not going to hurt the baby,” the tech responded.

Orihime nodded. She knew what to expect. When the tech got to a spot right above her pubic bone, she inhaled sharply and squeezed Ulquiorra’s hand. That spot was tender.

“What’s wrong?” He asked, worried. Ulquiorra was already feeling frantic and this wasn’t helping. “Are you okay? Are you in pain? Sick?” 

“Just a bit of tenderness,” she replied, giving him a pinched smile.

“Don’t worry, Kurosaki-san,” the tech erroneously addressed Ulquiorra. I have to use some pressure to get a clear picture. It won’t cause any damage.

He opened his mouth to say something but Isshin put a hand on his shoulder, probably to stop him from making an ass of himself. “Oh, it’s just… I don’t like to see Orihime in pain.”

Isshin smiled at him and said softly, “I know. Just watch.” The dark-haired doctor used his finger to direct Ulquiorra’s attention to the monitor attached to the machine.

“Ah ha!” The tech said. There it is. Your little one is about the size of a lime, now. Have a look,” she offered, tilting the monitor in their direction.

Orihime squinted and looked at the image on the screen. “What am I looking at?” she asked with an embarrassed chuckle.

“That looks nothing like a child,” the father mumbled as he scowled at the screen. “It looks like some… alien thing.”

The technician chuckled. “That’s how they look at this stage of development. Big head and tiny appendages.”

Oh. Well… Ulquiorra didn’t know these things and he hadn’t bought any books to read about this sort of thing. He should probably do that, but since they had been busy with the move and finding a lawyer for the Riruka thing, there wasn’t time. “Are we supposed to be looking for something then? Is it a girl or a boy?”

“It’s too soon to tell. In about eight more weeks you’ll come back for an anatomy scan and then your little one will look like a real baby. We should be able to tell the sex then. Today we just want to see that we’re on track and that our due date looks accurate and that the placenta and umbilical cord are properly developed. So far so good, too. Your due date is March seventh, right?”

“Yes,” Orihime responded, distracted by trying to see what Ulquiorra saw on the monitor. All she saw was squiggly lines.

“That appears to be right based on what I see. I’m going to take some pictures that you can take home and check a few things and then you can be on your way.”

He smiled and turned to look at his girlfriend. “Thank you, Woman,” he said as he bent down to kiss her, not caring who was in the room. He lowered his voice even more so only she could hear. “I love you.”

“You’re welcome?” she replied, still squinting at the monitor, trying to see what he saw. After the kiss she pulled her eyes away from it and to Ulquiorra. “I love you, too,” she said, not caring if anyone heard before squeezing his hand and smiling.


	24. Chapter 24

Eriko felt a dark shift in pressure outside. The only other person who seemed to recognize it was Kazui. It made her nervous that she could feel these things. Kaz had explained they were hollows, those bad things that ate human souls. Her father explained in detail why the creatures came to the world of the living. Orihime explained what happened when one of them arrived. 

A shinigami killed them. They were sent along their way.

Moments later, the pressure was gone. It happened several times that day, and each time the feeling became more and more intense. The last time it happened, Eriko felt like she couldn’t breathe. The students were working quietly, so Eriko got up and went to where her father sat at the front of the class. 

“Eriko? What is it?”

“I can’t--It’s hard for me--I can’t breathe.”

The man stood and guided his child out of the room. As soon as they were out in the hallway, Ulquiorra looked at her. She was paler than normal and sweating. Something was wrong. He had felt the hollows but tried his best to ignore them when they entered the atmosphere. It looked like Eriko wouldn’t get her wish of being able to ignore them and be a normal human. A sigh went through him as he fished his phone from his pocket, dialing Orihime’s number. 

“Hi, what’s up, darling?” Orihime asked, sweet tones tempered with mild concern. It wasn’t often that Ulquiorra called during class time.

“Eriko is having troubles,” he answered. “She says she can’t breathe, and she is pale and sweating. I have no clue what is going on with her.”

“Does she have a fever? Do you think she might be sick? I can come and bring her to the apartment to lie down if she’s ill; I’d be around to take care of her.”

Ulquiorra studied the kid for a moment. “Do you have a fever, Eriko?”

The girl shook her head. “Pressure, I can feel it outside. There are hollows,” she said in a gasping, breathy way.

Oh. “She says that she can feel the hollows. There’s pressure.”

“Hmmm,” Orihime considered this. “I think I should come and get her. I can let her lie down upstairs under a dome until she feels better, and then tonight I think we should talk about having her checked out. What do you think?”

Checked out? Why would--Oh… Orihime meant by Urahara or Ishida. A heavy sigh left him. He didn’t like the idea the first time and it still rankled him. “I do not like this, but yes,” he replied. “I will call Urahara. I don’t think we should involve Ishida in this. I do not trust him and I do not want him to have access to my child.”

Orihime sighed, a wrinkle of stress appearing on her forehead. “I know, I don’t trust him either, but I worry about Urahara. Maybe we can, or you can, ask Isshin his opinion? I know we can trust him.”

They could trust the elder Kurosaki, but still, Ulquiorra didn’t think the other man was equipped to deal with something like this. He was a human doctor. He did not specialize in special souls or whatever it was that Urahara did. Ishida was the same way. “We can ask if he can be there for Eriko and maybe keep Urahara in check. This makes me wonder though…”

“About what?”

“All those times Eriko couldn’t breathe as a younger child. Was it actual sickness, or was she feeling spiritual pressure then?”

Orihime’s mouth fell open. There might be something to that theory. “I would not be surprised if you’re right, Ulquiorra,” she finally replied, something akin to wonder in her breath. Then she swallowed down her pride and told Ulquiorra the truth. “About Urahara… It’s not that I have a good reason to mistrust him… It’s personal. It’s petty. If you trust him and Isshin trusts him, then I have no reason to object to him examining Eriko.”

This concern that Orihime had in her voice worried Ulquiorra. “That is the thing, I do not trust him completely, Orihime. I have my misgivings about anyone examining Eriko. When they suggested it in March, I almost went ballistic.”

“They? Oh, you mean Isshin and Urahara, right?”

“Yes. That was the first time the two had seen her. I’ve tried to keep her away from all of this.”

“Looks like you don’t have a choice, now.” Orihime sighed in surrender. “If he hasn’t tattled to Soul Society about her by now, I doubt he has any plans to do it. Anyway, I’ll be at the school in a few minutes if you want me to pick her up in the office.” 

Again, he looked at Eriko. She seemed a bit better, but the girl still had a pinched expression. “I think that would be for the best. I will send her down there to wait, and then call Urahara.”

“Okay, tell her I’ll see her soon. I love you.”

Ulquiorra echoed the sentiment and ended the call. He told Eriko what was going on before he made another phone call. This one took less time than the previous conversation.

***

“Please, Riruka, it’s only going to take about twenty, no, fifteen minutes. Please understand—“

“Understand what? That your boyfriend’s other kid is more important to you than your business? I could _never_ understand that. She’s not _your_ kid, Orihime. She’s not even your step kid. She’s basically nothing to you,” Riruka snarked.

Orihime spun on her heel and affected a somewhat threatening posture; her elbows rising off her sides and her shoulders and neck snaking toward the other woman. “Say what, now? Eriko is _nothing_ to me? You take that back, Riruka!” Orihime snarled. Nobody threatened her family so flippantly without suffering the consequences.

The other woman rolled her eyes. “Really, Orihime, the theatrics are too much. You’re always so dramatic. You’re just pissed that your baby-daddy won’t make an honest woman out of you. Seems to be a pattern with him, making bold declarations and then not following through. I’m _still_ waiting for that paperwork he keeps mentioning. I guess I’ll believe it when I see it.” 

Orihime growled. She didn’t have time for this bullshit. “Whatever Riruka. You know what? I’ll just close the shop while I’m gone.”

There was no response from Riruka as Orihime took out a piece of paper, hand-wrote “Closed, be back in fifteen minutes”, on it and taped it to the door before leaving and locking Riruka inside.

***

Orihime picked up Eriko and headed back to the shop. The girl was quiet as Ulquiorra signed her out to Orihime’s care and began the short trip back. After Orihime parked, she asked the girl if she wanted any food or drink.

“No, I told Dad it wasn’t anything serious. I just feel this dark pressure and it makes it hard for me to breathe,” Eriko said.

“Yeah, we had some hollows in town today. Um, Eri, two of my abilities are to provide a protective barrier against physical and spiritual threats, and to reject events. What I’d like to do today is have you lie down and rest while I use these abilities on you. It won’t hurt or bother you. You might see a bit of a light around you; maybe a little warmth, but it should restore the energy you’ve lost and protect you from any hollows while you, um, refill your SP?” she offered, unsure whether the girl would understand and/or accept.

Eriko looked at the woman with concern etched on her face. “Did my dad okay this?”

“Yes, he did,” Orihime replied with a nod.

Her mouth pulled down at the corners and at that moment, the girl looked exactly like her dad when he was displeased. Eriko didn’t want to acknowledge this SP stuff or the fact that she sometimes felt like she was drowning. “Okay,” she said.

“Okay, do you want to watch TV or use your phone? You could get comfy on the couch or the bed.”

How did Orihime know she had her phone? She wasn’t really allowed to take it out of the house, but Eriko had been sneaking it out more and more often. “You won’t tell Dad if I have my phone would you?”

“Honey, he knows,” Orihime answered. “He hasn’t said anything because he prefers that you have it in case you get into trouble.”

Eriko was silent as she mulled this information over. She set down her bag and looked through it to find the device. When it was in her hand she walked over to sit on the couch. “This isn’t going to hurt right?” she asked before laying down.

“Not at all. If anything it’s going to feel really good. Lie back,” Orihime said, raising her hands over Eriko’s supine body and calling out five of her six fairies. First two covered her with an ellipse-shaped dome, and then the remaining three created a triangular canopy over her. It was nearly silent, save for a scarcely detectable hum. “That’s it. How does it feel?” the woman asked after the domes were in place.

It felt like little sparks of energy flitted along the surface of her skin. The air felt too warm, and once again, a heavy pressure settled on her chest. Eriko felt trapped. She had to remind herself to keep taking deep breaths, but then she noticed the so-called fireflies, which caused her panic to dissolve. “They’re tiny… Fairies are real? Dad says they’re not. They’re just plot devices in fantasy books.” 

Orihime smiled, as did the so-called fairies. “They aren’t _exactly_ fairies, although they look like them. They don’t mind if you call them that, except Tsubaki,” Orihime chuckled. “He gets offended.”

“You had six the last time. What happened to the other one?”

“The other one is still in my hairclips,” Orihime said, pulling a lock of hair away from her ear. “Tsubaki is my offensive ability. I don’t need him now, so he’s resting in here. I’m a Fullbringer; we use significant objects, like these clips, to wield our abilities.”

Again the girl frowned. “What does it feel like? I can’t describe what I feel exactly but I know it’s angry… rumbly… squirmy. It's violent.” 

“And this feeling is inside you? Does it feel like it’s from your brain or your heart?”

“Both?” Eriko shook her head before focusing on one of the points of light. “I’m not really sure.”

“Hmm,” Orihime gave it some serious thought before responding. After several minutes, she said, “Well, I only have those kinds of feelings when someone I love is being threatened, so I don’t know if I can relate to how you are feeling. But, for me, it mostly feels desperate. I am desperate to help, or to protect, or to restore or reject or attack. I feel fear a lot. Fear motivates me to act, sometimes. But sometimes, like now, I’m motivated by love. I love you, Eri, and I want you to feel better.” Orihime was quiet again and reconsidered what Eriko was trying to express.

When she took her eyes off the parts of Orihime’s soul and looked at the older woman, Eriko could feel the panic appear again. She didn’t know why she felt this way. It really sucked. “Whenever the hollows appear, I feel this pressure. It’s dark. It feels bad. But it’s inside of me.”

Orihime’s eyebrows rose a bit as an idea came to her. “Eri, when you feel that dark pressure, are you afraid? Or do you feel more, I don’t know, um… Aggressive?”

“I’m not afraid. I feel angry. I feel like destroying things. I feel like hurting people when it comes, but then I can’t breathe.”

Orihime nodded. “I see. You’re right to be concerned about these feelings, I think. However, I don’t think you need to worry _too_ much. What you need to do is talk to your father. I think he will be able to assist you.” Orihime paused, and then added, “But you must actually listen to him, not blow him off like you’ve been doing. He is a lot smarter than you give him credit for.”

Eriko scowled. “I know he’s smart, but he treats me like a baby. I’m getting older and he treats me like I still need someone to keep an eye on me. I can take care of myself.”

“I know you feel like you’ve got it all under control, and I know you are very capable in a lot of situations, but there is still a lot about the world that you don’t know and a lot that you need him for. There is a reason humans are classified into children and adults. Children, even young women like you, still require supervision and guidance. There is just so much to learn. So much to watch out for. You can’t know; you’re not supposed to know. If you did you’d be paralyzed. It would be overwhelming.”

She scoffed. It didn’t seem like her father had grown up being different. Everyone around them accepted him for who he was and there were no arguments. “I just want him to stop being so overprotective. It’s worse now that you’re going to have a baby.” 

“You think so?” Orihime was surprised to hear this. “Well,” Orihime took a deep breath and exhaled heavily a few times, trying not to get angry. “I don’t think you understand how lucky you are. To have a father who loves you; who loves you as much as he does… Not everyone is that lucky.” 

The prickliness of Orihime’s power spiked and Eriko’s face screwed up into pain. She was getting irritated at the woman’s words and it just happened. “Okay that was weird. I was getting mad because of what you said and it feels like I got zapped. I don’t want him as a dad. I want a normal set of parents. I want someone who doesn’t look or talk so strange. I don’t want to hear all of those made up words.”

Orihime retracted her Rikka and looked at Eriko with a hard expression. “You take that back, Eriko Cifer. Words are more powerful than you know. I know you would be devastated if something happened to him. And those words he uses are not made up. The sooner you accept that, the better off you’ll be.”

Those green eyes narrowed as she sat up. “No. I won’t take them back. My dad needs to know that I’m unhappy. I wish he never met Yuko or brought me into the world.”

“Suck it up, Eri. Your father knows you’re unhappy. _Everyone_ knows you’re unhappy. You walk around acting like life owes you a perfect set of circumstances and that you’re the only one in the world who has ever suffered. Newsflash, you’re not. Everyone has it hard. You want to know why he treats you like a child? Not only is it because you are, in point of fact, a child, but you act like a big baby more and more lately! You’re growing up. You’re going to be a big sister. It’s time you started acting like one!” Orihime scolded. She didn't yell, but she made no attempt to hide her disappointment or aggravation.

“I wish my dad never met you.” With that Eriko pulled her knees up to her chest and hid her face behind them. She would probably catch hell for this later but at the moment, she didn’t care.

“Too bad,” Orihime said firmly. “I think you need a nap.”

***

When Ulquiorra got to the cafe with Kazui in tow, he had a smile on his face. When he entered the building, the atmosphere felt tense. Had Eriko gotten worse? No, Orihime would have notified him if something went wrong.

Orihime walked out from the plant room to greet them. “Hello my dears,” she said with a tense brow but a warm smile. “Kazui, would you mind helping Satomi, if she needs it, and doing your homework down here after you’ve had a snack? Ulquiorra needs to check on Eri; she’s a bit sick,” Orihime lied. Kazui didn't need to be involved in this.

“Is Eriko okay?” Ulquiorra asked after the boy wandered off. He gave Orihime a puzzled stare. “What happened?”

Orihime waited for Kazui to hop away before taking Ulquiorra’s hand and leading him away toward the stairwell. “She’s not sick. We need to get her checked out sooner than later. This isn’t just regular preteen angst. The hollows today had an effect on her. That… and I lost my temper with her today. I’m sorry. I probably overstepped my boundaries and said things to her that weren’t my place to say.”

The concern building in his mind grew as they went up the stairs. Ulquiorra didn’t like to hear that either of the females in his life were dealing with bad things. Listening to Orihime tell him that the hollows had an effect on his daughter was disturbing. Listening to his girlfriend tell him that she overstepped her boundaries was almost unheard of. “Hey, stop for a moment,” he said pulling on her arm a bit to get her attention. “Every parent has bad days, Orihime. It’s bound to happen. Remember when I offended you with calling Kaz a little shit? I’m sure whatever happened wasn’t that bad.” 

Orihime’s lips lifted into an apologetic half-smile and she sunk into his body, giving him a squeeze around the middle and breathing deeply. She took a few more breaths before backing up again and looking into his eyes, shame weighing on her brow. “The difference is, you said that to me; I said it to _her_. I shouldn’t have let her words get to me. I’m the grown-up.” She sighed and added, “She does not like me today, and at this point, I’m not sure that I blame her.”

His arms went around the woman, trying to comfort her. “You’re the closest thing she has to a female parent. You’re allowed to get upset with her at times. She’s a kid, she’ll get over it.”

Orihime took all the comfort he was willing to offer her. “Maybe you’re right. I hope so. Just to warn you, she is lashing out and saying really hurtful things about both of us. I don’t want it to take you by surprise. I don’t want it to hurt you. I think she’s just overwhelmed with this new spiritual awareness. Also… she did not like being restored by my Rikka. She seemed very uncomfortable, almost in pain at one point. I don’t know what it means, but I think she’s dealing with some difficult emotions right now.”

This wasn’t even Orihime’s responsibility, but she was dealing with it. Ulquiorra felt his admiration and heart swell for the woman in front of him. She was amazing and he was grateful she was in his life. As soon as they were on the landing he backed her up against the wall and slowly kissed her for a long moment. He only broke the kiss when he couldn’t breathe. “I love you, Woman.”

Orihime gasped, pleasantly surprised by his passionate display of affection. “I love you, Ulquiorra,” she responded breathlessly, raising a hand to comb her fingers through his hair. Her eyes found his and fell into them, forgetting the stress of the afternoon for a long moment, and a small smile broke through the cloud of worry on her face before she said, “Thank you.”

With that sorted out, Ulquiorra let her go and then opened the apartment door. His eyes zeroed in on his daughter who was curled up on the couch, fast asleep. She looked like an angel, but in the past few weeks, she had become more and more problematic. He had to handle this. “Eriko, wake up.”

The child looked up at her father through sleepy eyes. “Why, so you can yell at me?” she asked.

“No, we need to talk. We need to fix this problem before it becomes too much for you to handle,” Ulquiorra replied. He turned his head and looked at Orihime with a confused expression. What exactly had Eriko said to the other woman? “What is going on Eriko?”

“I don’t want to be here. I want to destroy things. I am angry.”

Ulquiorra remained speechless before he looked at Orihime again. “Could you give us a moment?”

“Of course,” she said gently before going back downstairs.

The man looked at his daughter before he dragged a chair over so that he could talk to her. “Eriko, I want to help you. I don’t know much about human children--”

“Then maybe you shouldn’t have had any. I feel weird. I feel like all I want to do is hurt people. I want to see people suffer,” she said with a nasty glare. 

Her words pulled him into his memories and hearing all the times Yammy, Nnoitra, or Grimmjow said things like that. He knew there were times he felt like that, but Ulquiorra had suppressed the emotions, only unleashing his wrath when he was face to face with Ichigo Kurosaki. “How long have you had these feelings, Eriko?”

The child scoffed, throwing a glare his way. “Now you care? I’ve always felt this thing inside of me. Everytime I couldn’t breathe I felt it. All you would do is take me to the doctor. They said I was sick. I don’t think I was sick. What did you do to me? Why am I like this?” Her tone was malicious, the accusations evident.

“Eriko, you’re going to have to see Urahara. He can help you. I don’t know what’s going on with you. I have my suspicions, but,” Ulquiorra paused and studied his offspring. She looked very angry -almost livid- at his words. “I think you might be coming into your powers. I’m not sure what those powers are, though. I don’t want you to hurt yourself or other people.”

“You don’t care about me! If you did, you wouldn’t have gotten Orihime pregnant. The new baby is going to come along and I’ll be pushed to the side and you’ll just overlook--”

“NO!” His voice was loud and boomed through the apartment. “Eriko, you are my first priority in life. That means I care for you. I have to discipline you and praise you. I’m trying to raise you to be a decent human. I have no clue what you said to Orihime, but you made her worry. You made her think--She’s a good person. She cares for you. Kazui cares for you. The entire Kurosaki family loves you.”

The girl crossed her arms over her chest. “I don’t care.”

Irritation was growing on Ulquiorra’s face. He was beginning to reach his limit for dealing with stubborn and petulant children. “Fine, don’t care. You’re still going to see Urahara. We need to know what we’re dealing with.”

***

Orihime had heard the shout from upstairs but waited until she heard footsteps on the stairs to check to see what was going on. As she turned and looked up, she saw Ulquiorra’s usually stoic face twisted into a worried frown. “How’d it go?” she asked softly.

Shaking his head, Ulquiorra sat down at one of the cafe tables. “She doesn’t care if she’s hurting people. She sounds like those violent Arrancars that Aizen made. I have to take her to see someone. Isshin deals more with humans, but I think Urahara knows more about other souls.”

“I think you’re right. It can’t be put off anymore.” Orihime sighed and stood behind him, kneading his tense shoulders. “No one said it was easy. Still… This is scary. I just want you to know that we will do anything we can to help, Okay?”

He tilted his head up, letting the back of his head rest against her chest. “You already do too much for me and for Eriko. I’m sorry she treated you poorly.”

“Shh. We’re family. Family never gives up. I know she wouldn’t normally say anything like she did. It’s a complete turn around from before. It makes me wonder if something has triggered her.”

“I have no clue. The only thing I can think of is that being around people with tremendous spiritual pressure has somehow nurtured hers to grow.” Ulquiorra dropped his head back down and sighed. He had no clue that raising a child would be this difficult. Eriko had been an easygoing kid up until a couple of months ago. “Her birthday is coming up. Maybe puberty triggered it?”

“It’s possible. Let’s let Urahara share his expertise before we go off on any more theoretical tangents. We’re better off planning a birthday party for her or something until we know more. We have a month; it should be plenty of time.”

“Your birthday will be arriving soon also,” Ulquiorra said, grateful for something else to focus on. He turned his body and looked at his girlfriend. “Besides Eriko’s antics, how do you feel today?”

She smiled. “Great. Well, great compared to last week anyway. I’m getting close to my second trimester, and by then I should have a good amount of energy. Fair warning though, that’s when my nesting stage began when I was pregnant with Kazui. I think it’s a fair guess that I’ll do it again,” she said with a chuckle.

“Nesting?” he asked, clearly confused. “I hope you’ll be making this nest outside. I do not want any debris inside the house.”

Orihime laughed hard enough that she felt the need to use a hand to support her belly. “No, nothing like that,” she said between laughs. “Pregnancy nesting is like a compulsion to prepare your home for the baby’s arrival. Reorganizing and decorating and shopping; things like that.”

This was a more reasonable definition of the word. Ulquiorra smiled at her for a moment. “Ah, that I can deal with, though, I’m not sure there is much to organize or decorate. Our house is well put together.”

She nodded. “We don’t have a nursery anyway. Maybe a crib and a mobile and…” she trailed off, getting caught up in visions of baby gear and pastel pictures of bunnies and bears. After a moment she shook her head. All that stuff was tempting, but expensive and unnecessary. “Just the basics.”

“We should ask Yuzu what is necessary.”

Orihime scoffed. “I know I was sleep deprived after Kazui was born, but I remember setting up his nursery. I also remember donating lots of stuff I never used. So, do you want to call Urahara or should I?”

“I will,” he said and stood. He gave Orihime another kiss before he made his way to her office to place the phone call.


	25. Chapter 25

Urahara listened to the man on the other end of the line and frowned. He had been feeling the spikes of spiritual pressure, but figured that it was Kazui. Instead, Ulquiorra was telling him that his daughter was becoming more volatile. She needed to be checked out. The gigai-encased soul also said he would like to be checked out.

“Why Cifer?”

“I need to know exactly what I am. I need that classification,” Ulquiorra answered. “I need it to explain things to my daughter and my new child. At the moment, I’m not sure if I’m really a hollow.”

Hmmm. It was tricky to say what the former Espada was. Tests would need to be done. “Alright, I don’t see any harm in it. Bring along Isshin and he can look Eriko over, too. I do not want you to get angry this time. We were only trying to help.”

There was a quiet hum. “I understand this and I know this is important. It’s important that Eriko gets help for this… problem she’s having. I cannot have something happen to her.”

“Now, now Cifer. No need to get sentimental on me, I understand. I’ll let you know in a couple days when I have a free day to accommodate your request.” 

***

It took two days before Urahara told him a day and time to be at the shoten. Isshin had a free day and the stars aligned or whatever. Ulquiorra was kind of mad that this would take place after Orihime’s birthday. 

He still needed to find a suitable present for her. He needed to do something for her birthday. It didn’t sound like a good idea to just lump Orihime and Eriko’s birthdays in one party. He felt like his daughter would resent him for it.

So that night as they were cleaning up, Ulquiorra decided to ask Orihime what she wished for. “Woman,” he stated.

“Man,” Orihime replied, thinking herself mildly clever and smiling.

Whenever Orihime called him that, Ulquiorra frowned. He wasn’t exactly a man, even if she thought he was. “What do you wish for your birthday? Do you want a party? A nice dinner? An evening alone? Urahara has plans for Eriko on the fourth.”

Orihime turned and looked at him thoughtfully. “A nice dinner would be… nice. Maybe just you and me? We could do a little cake here with the kids first.”

He nodded his head. “Is there a present or gift you would like? Perhaps a suggestion of one?”

“Uhhh…” She didn’t know what to say. Ichigo never asked her what she wanted for her birthday. He usually got her a book or a sweater; something nice, but not requested or overly personal. “Um, I don’t know? I don’t really need anything,” she said finally.

From what he observed of most women, they all talked about wanting something. Orihime had never done that. She was ecstatic with the most basic things Ulquiorra had given her so far. He frowned. “You do not want anything? Well, I could just take this endeavor into my own hands.” Walking towards her, he put his hands on her hips. “Are you sure? I mean I could give you a back massage or rub your feet. I could rub lotion on your belly. Maybe you’d like to sleep in one day? How about endless orgasms?” 

“Well, what do you know? You’re kind of writing a wish list for me,” she said with an embarrassed smile. They were still in the cafe, despite most of the scant customers being engrossed in a volume of manga.

His eyebrows rose slightly. “Oh? You would like all of those things?” he asked in a quiet voice.

“Um, yes?” Now she was unsure. She was unable to wipe that look off her face, though, and her cheeks started getting hot and pink. Even after several months of being a couple, she never got tired of his attention. It was always welcome and exciting.

“I’ll see what I can do,” Ulquiorra murmured before kissing her cheek. “Are you coming with me to Urahara’s? I understand if you’re unable to do so because of the cafe. I wouldn’t want to cause Riruka displeasure.”

“Oh heavens no, we wouldn’t want that,” Orihime snarked, smiling at him. “I will come, but I will have to wait until Satomi starts her shift, I think. Then I can bring Kazui home or here or to the shoten… It’s up to you, but it might be better if he is there and informed if his more-or-less sister has some mysterious powers. What do you think I should do with him?” 

A nod from the green-eyed man. It would be for the best if Eriko had a familiar face around while this ordeal was going on. If Kazui was there, then he could talk the girl through things. “It might be best if he comes along.”

Orihime nodded back. “What time are you going there?”

“In the morning. I will drop you off here or I can leave the car here. Eriko and I can walk.”

“It’s alright, I can use the Halcyon van. We have no deliveries scheduled for that day… I worry that you might need a getaway car,” she said with a nervous laugh. She knew she was being ridiculous, but she couldn’t help but worry.

Ulquiorra turned and looked at Orihime. “What is concerning you?”

“I just… Urahara has never really been honest with me. I felt that he was only marginally more honest with Ichigo. I’m still not over him sidelining me before the Winter War.”

He remembered that. Ulquiorra could hear the words the Shinigami had said to Orihime, even if she couldn’t see him. Aizen had told him that this information was important because it would just strengthen the hold Ulquiorra could have over the teenager. He had his doubts about this plan, but Aizen was a mastermind. “You became strong on your own,” he finally said.

She gave him a smile. “I had a little help. Rukia helped me. You--” her eyes glazed over a moment. She had had another flash of memory. This one did not upset her though, merely confused her for another moment. She came out of it after a moment and refocused on his eyes. She smiled again. “I think you helped me. I can’t exactly remember, but I think so.”

“I didn’t help. I terrorized you.” His mouth formed a thin line as he thought about it.

She snorted. “That may have been the push I needed. You never know,” she said with a teasing lilt.

“You slapped me. You stood up to me,” Ulquiorra answered. He opened his mouth again, wanting to ask her the million yen question that roamed in his thoughts but he closed it. It wasn’t her fault she was scared and had relied on her friends for support in defeating him.

Orihime narrowed her eyes. “Everything alright? You’re not usually the one who spaces out, but I felt like you got lost in your mind for a minute.”

With a shake of his head he rid his brain of these thoughts. It wouldn’t do to dwell on the past. “Somewhat. Just… memories assaulting me.”

“Sounds familiar.”

***

Orihime woke up on her birthday to a silent house. She rolled over to find Ulquiorra, only to find an empty bed and a note that read:

_Off to school with the children. I’ll call you before you need to get ready for work, but I hope you enjoy sleeping in on your birthday._

She smiled after she read it, and stretched before picking up her phone and tapping out a short message to thank him and advise him that she was up.

She took a nice, long shower and picked out a pretty, flowy dress to wear that day; one that accommodated her belly. She made herself a cup of tea with honey and milk and sat out on the deck to drink it, enjoying the warm late summer air and the sound of the still-present cicadas. It really was a rare treat to be alone with her thoughts without anywhere to rush off to. Riruka worked the morning shift with an elderly part-timer on Tuesday mornings.

After her tea was consumed and a light breakfast was eaten, Orihime decided to go in to work early. She took her time walking to the train station, unconcerned about whether she made it in time. There was another train in thirty-five minutes if she missed this one.

She made it in time nonetheless and got a seat near the door, watching out the window as the mountains surrounding Naruki City gave way to the business district of Karakura Town. She only rolled her eyes slightly when Karakura Hospital came into view, reminding her of her “friend”, Uryu.

He had backed off his short-lived pursuit of the pregnant redhead, which she considered a blessing. Ulquiorra and she were stressed enough, dealing with Riruka and Eriko, without having to handle the prissy Quincy’s advances. She smiled to herself as the train came to a halt and she stepped onto the platform.

It must have been lunchtime at school, because her phone chimed. She looked down at the screen to see a message from Eriko. This surprised her, until she read the message:

  * _Hi Mom! This is Kazui, Eri let me use her phone. Happy Birthday! See you later for cake!_



She chuckled and sent back a string of emojis, comprised of hearts, birthday cake, a gift, and smiley faces as she walked toward the shop, then sent a message to Ulquiorra.

  * _Hey you, thanks for the lie-in. I feel refreshed and ready to admit to being 34. I love you!_



Ulquiorra smiled as he watched the screen of his phone light up. Seeing Orihime’s name there sent a warm feeling through his body. It was a good thing she felt refreshed, because he felt like a terrible father. He turned his head so that he could give his daughter a side-eyed glance.

The trouble started after Kazui had handed the girl her phone back. One of the girls in the class made some snide remark about her, and Eriko had grabbed the other girl’s phone and chucked it out the window. Ulquiorra heard the device hit the ground. He winced, because the thing had to be in several pieces. The boys in the room who had witnessed the act kept commenting on how far Eriko could throw something.

Her father knew she was proud of this fact, but it wasn’t something to boast about. He had sent her out of the room to wait for him to decide her punishment. It wasn’t going to be pretty.

Ulquiorra ignored his daughter for a few more minutes before he finally picked up his own phone and tapped on the text message.

\- You’re very welcome but you were supposed to be in bed all day. I’m glad that you’re feeling good. I hope you’re ready for tonight.

He still needed to call Isshin and reaffirm that the man was going to keep an eye on the kids. 

When Orihime walked into the shop reading Ulquiorra’s message, she had a huge grin on her face. She replied,

  * _You know I can’t stay in bed all day, I’d die of boredom. I’m at the shop. I can’t wait to see you._



She was still grinning as she walked up to the counter and saw a bouquet of mixed lilies from Isshin. He always got her the same thing for her birthday. She didn't even have to read the card, though she did anyway. Then she put on her apron, enjoying the best part of her work, which for her was taking care of the plants and helping customers. She let Riruka and old Aoyama-san handle the hard work today. She was even able to ignore the nasty stares the pink-haired woman threw in her direction all day.

His fingers flew over the digital keyboard as the smile on his face got bigger. Ulquiorra’s eyes only deviated from the screen because of his daughter’s snort.

\- So, I paid Satomi to make a cake. I will pick up some ice cream. I’ve already planned out dinner. The kids will be going to their grandfather’s after we have the treats and then you and I are going to spend an evening together.

Orihime blushed imagining the possibilities.

  * _Oooh! I’m so excited!!_



Then she texted a thank you to Isshin, since she already had her phone out.

Just before lunch ended, Kazui raised his hand. “Cifer-sensei!”

Ulquiorra looked at his almost stepson as he walked into the room. “Yes, Kurosaki?”

“Everything alright?” the boy asked discreetly.

“Yes and no, Kaz. Your mother is happy today; this is what I planned. I still haven’t decided what to do with Eriko,” he answered. “Anything else, or can I begin with teaching?” 

The boy’s mouth twisted to one side as he considered it. “It’s just… I know Eri was wrong, but so was Namiko. She was making fun of her eyes and calling her a witch.”

Ulquiorra nodded. He heard what the girl had said to his daughter. There was a right way to go about things, but Eriko had decided to take another path. “We can talk about this later, Kazui.”

The boy nodded and took his seat quietly.

At the end of the school day, Ulquiorra still hadn’t decided on a severe enough punishment, besides making Eriko clean the classroom all by herself. “Hurry up Eriko! Quit dawdling. Kazui, can you run to the store and buy your mother’s favorite kind of ice cream? I don’t--”

“She likes mint chocolate chip,” Eriko said as she pushed a broom around the space.

“What?” Ulquiorra asked and then looked at the ginger-headed boy.

“Eriko said Mom likes mint chocolate chip. How did you know, Eri?” Kazui asked, clearly impressed.

The girl rolled her eyes. “She had an episode and we were doing some photos. She sent me to get ice cream bars or something from a machine.”

Kazui scoffed. “Come on, you remembered. That’s cool,” he said, trying to dial down his excitement in response to her withering glare. The boy couldn’t help trying to deescalate the tension surrounding his best friend and was sometimes overzealous in his praise of the girl.

For some reason that statement made Eriko smile for a moment before she saw her father’s eyes on her. Then she scowled at the man. “She likes mint chocolate chip ice cream,” Eriko said before she turned around to finish her task.

Ulquiorra raised an eyebrow then sighed. He handed Kazui the amount that was needed and sent him on his way. “Get mint chocolate chip ice cream and take it to the shop, please!”

The boy obeyed with a nod and ran out the door.

Ulquiorra watched his daughter as she went around the room. “Do you want to talk about this?”

“No. It won’t change your mind. You’re still going to have a baby with her,” Eriko stated.

“Eriko, we’ve discussed this.”

“I’m still mad about it. It was just us for the longest time. Me, you and Sato-san. Then she passed and it was just us. Suddenly you meet Orihime and act weird only to find out that you love her,” the girl said. She let out a sob before covering her face. 

This was pulling at his heart. Ulquiorra sighed and walked over to his daughter. “How many times do I have to explain to you that you come first in my life? You will always be there, Eriko.”

She sniffled. “No I won’t. The baby--You’re going to have more children and I’ll just be the oldest who gets in trouble for everything and has to be perfect.”

“Really? Eriko, I’m not asking for any of that. I’m asking you to be a decent human--”

“That’s the thing, Dad! I’m not human. Why?”

“Eriko, kiddo, tomorrow everything will be explained. I promise.”

***

“Happy birthday Mom!” Kazui called as he entered the shop. “Freezer, now!! I have thawing ice cream!” he hollered comically as he ran to the kitchen.

“Thanks Monkey! Where are the Cifers?” Orihime asked when she finally caught up with him.

“Eri had an incident and had to clean the classroom. They should be here soon.”

This was becoming a pattern and no longer shocked Orihime, although she wasn’t happy to admit it. “I guess we just wait, then.”

“Nope! I have something for you,” the boy sad with a proud grin as he started to fish through his backpack, having saved the ice cream.

“Oh? What is it?” Orihime asked, acting overly excited.

Kazui have her an unimpressed look for a moment before blushing and smiling, passing his mother a letter with a pretty design on the envelope.

Orihime’s heart melted, and her lower lip came out with a soft, “aw”.

He had written a sweet birthday message complete with an I love you and thank you for taking care of me, and taped to the paper was a small star charm made of gold-plated metal.

“Kazui! You didn’t have to do this! It’s lovely.” Orihime enthused, turning the trinket over in her hands and admiring it.

“I know,” the boy said bashfully. “But, I remembered your name is from the star festival and when I saw it I thought of you…” he trailed off, feeling self-conscious.

“I love it. I love you, Monkey. Thank you,” she whispered, letting only one tear escape before gathering her son up into a hug. “I’m going to put this on a cord and wear it tonight,” she said when she finally released him. “We have some pretty silk cord in the floral supplies. Maybe you can find one that matches my hairpins?”

The boy was thrilled by his mother’s response and trotted away from her. She watched with an affectionate sigh. He was such a good boy. She hoped all the change in their lives wasn’t too much for him.

While he was busy, she helped Satomi finish the end-of-day tasks; they were closing the shop early and Riruka had already decided she was done for the day and left ten minutes prior. She didn't push the remaining customers out, but quietly flipped the open sign over to closed and then turned around when Kazui returned with the cord.

“Oh this is perfect!” Orihime exclaimed, threading the aquamarine-colored cord through the hole in the charm and tying it into a pair of slipknots before bringing it over her head and adjusting the length. Kazui beamed when she added, “I’m going to go see how it looks in the mirror.”

Fifteen minutes later, Ulquiorra pulled open the cafe door and ushered his daughter into the building first. He greeted the staff before looking around for Orihime. He made note that Eriko made a beeline for a table and began to pull out things so that she could do her homework. Maybe their emotional discussion had opened the kid’s eyes a bit. 

Just then, the bell on the door chimed and a series of huffs followed. “Why the fuck is this place closed? You all just like throwing money away? Jesus! Thank god I came back for my purse or we would be out the last two hours. Satomi! Where are you going? Get your apron back on and turn the sign back around!” Riruka nearly screamed.

The man scoffed loudly before turning around. “They are leaving for the night. You were not invited to this party,” he said as he fought the urge to hit the rude woman. If he could, Ulquiorra would have thrown several Balas at her already.

Orihime came out of the bathroom with an angry expression. “What are you carrying on about, Riruka? We told you we were closing early today. You had no problem ditching early!”

Riruka scoffed. “Oh, sure, that’s rich, coming from the slut who is constantly leaving to go visit her baby daddy and kids. You have no leg to stand on, hollow incubator!”

“Excuse me?” The question was sharp and laced with malice as Ulquiorra turned to the Fullbringer with a sneer on his face. How he hated this poor excuse for a woman. “I think you’re done here Riruka. I have the papers. Are you ready to sign these documents?”

“Do you have them? I’ll sign them right now,” the Fullbringer snapped, slapping her purse on a nearby table.

He looked at Orihime before he dug into his bag for the folder which held the packet of papers. Inside the folder was a check for the amount that Riruka had initially invested into the business plus the contract that would release her interest in the business and ban her from the property. He put the item down on the table and then placed a pen down.

She didn't even read it. “What’s today’s date?” she asked harshly.

“It’s the third,” he replied. “It’s Orihime’s birthday.”

She scoffed. “Well merry happy birthday, Ori-ho-bag,” she muttered as she dated and signed the document. “And that’s it, then? This check’s not going to bounce?”

He fought back the urge to slap Riruka. Ulquiorra took a deep breath and shook his head. “There is enough in that account that I could write that amount four times and still not be bothered. Get out now.”

“I’m already gone. I have an overdue vacation. I’ll be sure to say hi to Tsukishima for you, Orihime-chan,” she said, making a snarky, cutesy voice as she said her former partner’s name and waving as she went through the door.

Orihime stood and watched her go with mixed feelings. While they had never been close friends, she had always felt that Riruka was kind of an ally. Since she began her relationship with Ulquiorra, it had been thrown in her face that that impression was completely one-sided, and it still stung a bit. She was sad that she was glad to see her go.

As soon as the woman was gone, Ulquiorra closed the folder and put it into his bag. “We’re going to have to file some documents and change things, you realize that, don’t you?” he asked Orihime. She looked conflicted. He smiled at her. “But, I look forward to doing business with you, Woman.”

That cheered her up, and she returned his smile. “Me too. What do we have to do? Is it urgent, or can it wait?”

“It can wait. I have thirty days to file paperwork. That's what the lawyer told me. We have your birthday to celebrate.”

Orihime nodded and stepped toward the green-eyed man, placing her arm through his and leaning into his shoulder. “You are my hero, you know that?” she said in a dreamy kind of voice. “I never have to deal with that unhinged person again! It’s all thanks to you.”

A smile appeared on his face. “Well, I’m glad it happened today. Consider it one of your gifts from me to you, Orihime.”

She turned her body to face his front and stood on tiptoe to kiss him. “Thank you. If I had known that the thirty-fourth birthday was the best one, I would have turned thirty-four a long time ago,” she said with a laugh. 

Kazui rolled his eyes at her. “Well, I’m not going to miss mean old Riruka. Want me to get the cake out, or should we wait a little while?” he asked Ulquiorra.

Oh no. There would be no waiting. Ulquiorra had plans. He had a time table. He tipped his head down so that he could whisper in her ear. “Unless you’d like to delay me plying you with mind blowing orgasms we can wait,” he told her.

“Set the table, Kazui!” Orihime answered the hanging question.

Five minutes later a cake was sitting on a table with plates ready to be filled with its slices. “Let’s sing, right?” Kazui asked, pulling out a box of matches and passing them to Ulquiorra before running to go shut off the lights. Another three minutes later, and Orihime had been properly serenaded and candles had been blown out, and the kids began mowing down their pieces of cake.

Orihime nibbled at hers. She didn't want to spoil her appetite. Plus, she had butterflies in her stomach, imagining what Ulquiorra had in mind.

Eriko was silent as they dug into the cake. She kept looking at her bag and then at Orihime. “Orihime?”

The woman set down her fork and looked at the girl before responding quietly, “What is it, sweetheart?”

She stood up and dug out the card she had made for her dad’s girlfriend. Eriko knew it wasn’t much, but she hoped Orihime would accept it. She would understand if the woman didn’t accept it. Eriko had been a terrible child lately.

Orihime’s eyes widened as the flat object came into view. “What is this?” she asked, a surprised smile slowly forming on her face. “Did you make this, Eriko?” She could see that it was not a store-bought item.

“Yes, I know it’s not much, but I thought that making you a card would show my thanks more than a purchased one. Also, I’m sorry. And happy birthday.”

Orihime took the card and opened it to read the inscription, after grinning at the picture Eri had drawn of a succulent with a kawaii face on it. She read the brief message in silence and her eyes watered and cheeks colored slightly as she closed it, whispering to the girl, “This means a lot to me, Eriko. Thank you.” Orihime got up and hugged Eriko from behind and then returned to her seat. 

“So, did Ulquiorra tell you kids that he ordered you dinner?” Orihime teased, hoping to get them excited to get the hell out of her shop. “Rumor has it that it’s covered in cheese and greasy meat toppings.”

“I did not, but you two will be going over to your grandfather’s and he has promised to have a fun filled and healthy evening for you two while I take Orihime out,” Ulquiorra said. He knew she was teasing, but his mouth still formed a thin line. Isshin had promised that there would be nothing like Orihime described.

Orihime knew Isshin better than that, though. If those kids even whispered the word pizza, pizza is what they would get. And soda. And candy. And any other junky kind of treat they wanted. He was grandpa. He didn't have to enforce the rules if he didn't want to. She chuckled before adding, “Just make sure if he offers you candy that you tell him that you’ve already had cake. You don’t want any cavities or anything, right?” The way she said it made it clear to the children that she had no expectation that they would follow through with this suggestion.

“Can we go now?” Eriko asked with a smile on her face.

To Ulquiorra, it had been too long since he had seen joy on his daughter’s face. “Yes, make sure you take your bags and I will be over in the morning to gather both of you,” he said.

They didn't need to be told twice. Kazui leapt from his seat, gathering plates and rushing them to the sink before grabbing his mother around the neck, squeezing her face to his cheek, and bleating, “Happy birthday, Mom! See you tomorrow!” He skipped over to the door with his bag in hand. “Come on, Eri! Let’s go! We want to get there before Scary-- I mean, before that educational television show comes on that we’ve been waiting to watch.”

He shook his head at the children as they left the cafe. When it was just the couple, Ulquiorra looked at Orihime. He felt slightly nervous now that it was just the two of them. They rarely got a chance like this. “Is there anything we need to do down here before we go up?”

“No, we can go,” she answered, an anxious feeling buzzing in her belly. It wasn’t a bad feeling, though. Just excitement mixed with the unknown.

Ulquiorra stood and helped her stand up before they went upstairs. He bit his lip as he opened the door to the flat, letting Orihime go ahead of him. “If you would like some real food, I need to prepare it,” he said after making sure the door was shut behind him.

She smiled, not sure how she wanted to answer that question. “Um, well, I guess I might need some energy tonight, right?”

“I mean, I could pamper you first,” he replied, walking over to where she stood. Orihime seemed to be as nervous as he was, which was a rare thing. “I mean we just did have cake and ice cream.”

“Okay, I guess you’re right, we could eat later. What did you have in mind first?” She wanted to find out what he would do if he had control over what happened, so she didn't want to push too far in any direction.

A swell of confidence grew in his chest as he drew Orihime closer to him. He was going to enjoy this. If she was willing to give him the reins, he would do as much as he could to please her. Afterall, it was her birthday. “You look beautiful today,” he said as Ulquiorra began to rub her back, looking for some kind of zipper or something on the outfit she was wearing.

Orihime blushed at the compliment. She felt his hands find the hook closure at the back of her neck, and she shivered slightly as it came open and his hands made contact with the skin on the top of her back. “Thank you,” she finally said, remembering her manners.

“You don’t need to thank me, but you are welcome, Woman. Take this thing off. I want you bare to me,” Ulquiorra said, his voice deep and low.

Orihime smiled and reached behind her, finding the hidden zipper in the folds of gauzy fabric that draped over her back under the cutout. She pulled her arms out of the armholes and let the dress fall off her form. “And the rest?” she asked, her hands first going to the necklace Kazui gave her; that could be set aside until morning. She didn't need his face in mind tonight.

He saw the necklace and almost smiled. It seemed he and the orange-haired boy had the same idea, except Ulquiorra had gotten her a bird charm. He would give her the physical presents later that evening. “Yes, please.”

Orihime stepped away two paces to set the necklace on the kitchen island and then returned to her place before Ulquiorra before removing her bra and then pulling her underwear down her legs and stepping out of them. When she stood back up she fluffed her hair back into place and looked up into Ulquiorra’s face. “How’s this?” she asked without thinking, then fought a self-deprecating laugh at how dorky the question sounded. 

Intense eyes focused on Orihime. Ulquiorra had no words to describe how perfect she was to him; for him. This woman was only half of his universe. Her face was gorgeous; she had the body of a goddess with the slope of her breasts and the gently swollen tummy. He bit his lip after his initial assessment of his girlfriend. “I don’t think you could be anymore flawless,” he stated.

Ulquiorra took her hand and led her over to the couch, indicating that she should sit, and when she did, he sank to his knees, stretching his neck to kiss a path from her mouth, down to her neck and chest. “I want you to tell me what you would like. It doesn’t have to be for this exact moment. But I want you to think about it.”

“What I would like?” It seemed an open-ended question. Her mind started chasing ideas in several different directions. “I would like a lot of things, I think. I like this a lot,” she offered.

A chuckle left him as he made a trail of kisses to one tit and then then other, cupping each of them so that he could gently squeeze them. “You like this?”

“Correction, I love this. Um, watching you enjoy me is the most visually gratifying thing I have ever seen,” she blurted out before she had a chance to feel embarrassed about it.

“I suggest you keep your eyes open then, Princess.” Ulquiorra smiled at her before he straightened up to kiss her again.

She did, only letting her eyelids fall heavy once his mouth was on hers in a way that felt so good that there was no way she would be able to keep them open, but even then, she willed them to crack open, watching his inky black hair bob in small movements and his ear come in and out of focus. When she happened to see him open his eyes a bit, a slit of emerald green fire crowding her vision, she wanted to gasp. He was beyond attractive to her. Aesthetically, he awoke a part of her that she didn't have much control over; and that part of her was always hungry for more.

As soon as he was done kissing her pregnant tummy, Ulquiorra glanced at Orihime. “I would do anything to make you happy, Woman. I hope you know that,” he murmured, laying his cheek on her abdomen.

His action and sentiment cause her to feel overwhelming affection, and her hands came down to caress his face as he embraced her and their unborn child. “I am happy. I am so happy, Ulquiorra. You… You and the kids, but especially you. You make me feel alive. I am so in love with you,” she answered in the same intimate way he had spoken to her.

If it was possible, Ulquiorra felt like he was falling in love with her all over again. His emotions were overwhelming him and he turned his face, hiding it by burying it in her skin. It was silly how his feelings could do this to him. After a long moment, he straightened his body again and kissed Orihime, letting his tongue come out to taste her lips. “I love you.”

Orihime’s lips parted and her tongue invited his inside, the soft, warm space filling with passion as the kiss deepened. Orihime found herself breathing his breath and holding it, trying unconsciously to imprint the scent into her brain. Her hands acted on their own as they held onto either side of his neck while her fingertips gently scratched at his scalp, coaxing him to continue this dance of tongues.

The way she was kissing him was fueling his passion for her. It took a minute for him to pull away from her slightly to catch his breath. He had meant to make this night about her but she seemed to be wanting him more than usual. Unless she was sick or tired, they always made love, because Ulquiorra was unable to satiate himself. Thinking about Orihime aroused him. Looking at her could ignite his lust. Touching her was just a countdown to the main event. Before he engaged in kissing her again, he trailed his hands down her body until he reached her thighs and stroked them gently. “Are you having fun?” he asked with a smile. 

She chuckled, not only at his question but also the way his hands passed over a ticklish spot on her legs. “Was there any doubt? If there was, yes, I am certainly having fun,” she purred.

“I’m just being a gracious host,” he said, “I wouldn’t want to be neglectful.” As he talked, his hands worked their way in between her legs, caressing her.

Orihime’s head fell back into the back of the sofa and her legs spread further on their own in response to his touch. As far as she was concerned, her body was his for the taking almost anytime he wanted. His touch never failed to make her worries disappear and mind shut off its higher functions, leaving room only for feelings and sensations. This sensation was quite pleasant, and she let him know it with a lazy smile and a soft hum of contentment.

A quiet growl left him as Ulquiorra slipped a finger into the woman, then another. She was already wet. It still astonished him that he caused her body to react like this. Then he growled again because his clothing was becoming a confining barrier that was keeping him from his goal. “One moment,” he said, standing.

Orihime lifted her head a bit and watched, waiting to see what he would do. Her eyes widened and narrowed as his shirt came off. His body was exquisite. She never tired of looking at him, the sharp angles covered with pale, perfect skin apart from the markings Urahara had put on the gigai. Her eyes fell upon the four on his chest and her mind left her living room for a moment, and she suddenly found herself in a hallway in Las Noches. She blinked, forcing herself to come back to the present. These little lapses were happening so frequently these days that she was no longer troubled by them very much. She knew the facts, even though she couldn’t recall them at will. 

The thing about it happening at times like this, was that it sometimes led her to have very confusing fantasies, ones of being his prisoner and him taking advantage of that fact. She would never admit to anyone that she rather enjoyed these thoughts, but having them now, while he disrobed in front of her, only made her hotter and wetter, and she mewled quietly in impatience.

“Something troubling you?”

“You’re too far away,” she murmured, rubbing her thighs together.

As his trousers slipped down his legs, Ulquiorra stepped out of them. He left them on the floor as he moved closer to the woman. “I’m right here,” he said with a slight smile. “Did you want to do this out here or take this activity to the bedroom?”

“Let’s go,” she said, holding a hand out to him for assistance; her belly made her a balance a bit off. 

Of course he helped her up and was a steady form that she could lean on. He knew his role in her life. He was supposed to be the stable one while she went through this transition. As Ulquiorra lead her to the bedroom, he smiled as he remembered what he put into the room earlier that day when he stopped by before school. The box that held his mask sat on the bed.

Orihime spied it right away, despite being distracted by his ass. “What’s that?” she asked, only sounding mildly interested.

“Its something for you. Something I’ve been wanting to show you in person,” Ulquiorra replied. With the mood being what it was, he didn’t know if showing her now would spoil things. “It can wait until later though.”

It was his show tonight, and she didn't want to disturb his flow. “Alright, I’ll look forward to it then,” she said before kissing his arm and letting her hand cup one of his taut buttcheeks. She couldn’t help it, they had been calling her name the entire walk over to the bedroom.

He returned the gesture but he grabbed both of hers. Ulquiorra chuckled, liking her reaction. He couldn’t get enough of her. She was air. She was his water. He needed her. Reaching down he picked her up by her thighs and waited until she was stabilized before he sat her on the bed.

Orihime giggled when he picked her up and when she was on the bed she smiled up at him like he was the sun. Maybe the moon. He resembled the moon more than the sun, but he warmed her heart like the latter. “What do you want to do?” she asked after a couple moments. If she didn't, it was possible that they would spend the whole evening staring at one another.

“I, uh, I wanted to make love to you, but now I just want to love you.” Ulquiorra gave her a small smile and felt his face become warm.

If it was possible to fall more deeply in love with him, she did at that moment. Her throat felt thick as she reached out to him and whispered, “Come to me, my love. We can have both.” 

Ulquiorra followed her directions, sitting beside her on the bed. He kissed her bare shoulder first, then her neck and followed it up to her ear which he gently nipped. He breathed softly as he could before murmuring, “I want both.”

Her chest felt tight with emotion. She couldn’t sit there idly, so she pushed him back onto the bed and laid on her side next to him, her leg draped carefully over his hips and her breasts squished into his arm as she directed his face towards hers with a hand. “Thank you. This is the best birthday gift,” she said before she kissed his lips.

“This isn’t the gift. I mean it is, but it isn’t. I’m supposed to be giving you orgasm after orgasm and all I want to do is lay here and hold you,” he said. Ulquiorra turned carefully and pushed Orihime until she was on her back. It was certain times he was glad that he had a one track mind. “I plan to do just that.”

Orihime bit her lip and looked at him curiously. “As you wish,” she said, not letting her eyes off of him.

He lined his body up with hers, careful not to squish her belly and resumed leaving kisses over every inch of her skin. He could hear her gasps and whimpers ask his lips touched sensitive parts of her body. “Okay?”

“Yes,” she squeaked. It might have been interpreted as a lie; that she was suffering; but the way her skin had colored and her eyes had grown dark and heavy gave evidence that the only suffering that she was experiencing was from the weight of her growing desire.

A hint of a smirk crossed his face for a moment before he wedged his body between her legs. His hands once again found her core and were teasing her by touching everywhere down there but where she wanted his fingers to be. Ulquiorra knew she didn’t just want his hands. “You are still wet.”

“Still? Try rewet. You have no idea how hot you are,” she complained with a bit of a whine in her voice.” I sometimes have to change my underwear just after talking to you on the phone about what to have for dinner.”

Another laugh. “Really? Do you know the effect you have on me, Woman?”

She shook her head. “No. Tell me.”

“I think about you and want to be with you. I talk to you and I want to stare at you. I touch you and want to be inside of you. I would be your shadow, given the chance,” Ulquiorra said. His fingers had gently parted her nether lips and he stroked the skin there.

Orihime answered his action with a soft whine and stretched her chin up as her eyes closed, focusing on the sensation. He hadn’t been lying, she was exceptionally wet, and his fingers slid over her smoothly and without resistance. Her knees rose up on their own to give him more space to move as he pleased and her hands hooked under them to keep them in place.

His teeth raked over his lip as he watched her. Orihime was pushing all of the buttons that made him want her. The wait was driving him to the brink of craziness. She would understand. Removing his fingers, Ulquiorra shifted closer to her lining his cock up with her entrance, moaning as the head sank into her.

Orihime cried out a long, appreciative moan as he slid into her. Her entrance seemed to lap at him as he entered, coaxing him deeper, as if he needed encouragement. Her body shuddered as he stretched her walls and pressed into her. “Oh god, Ulquiorra,” she breathed, “if you hadn’t already I’d be begging you to impregnate me.” It was a weird sentiment, but that’s what her body was telling her. “I belong to you.”

Those words from her mouth made his brain stop for several moments. A shiver of desire ran through him as he slammed into her one time, letting her encompass him. “Mine,” he breathed against her neck as he leaned down. “You have always been mine.”

His words made her whimper and her core tighten. “I am yours,” she answered in a small cry, her hands letting go of her knees as her legs crossed around his back and her fingers raked down his back. “No one else. Ever.”

“Oh,” he moaned. This position made his cock slide deeper into her. The sensation of that slick skin moving over his dick made his eyes shut tight. It was heaven. She knew what to do to make him want to empty himself into her. The pace started out slow because he wanted to feel everything. He wanted Orihime to feel it all too.

Orihime panted as he moved inside of her, her breath washing over the side of his face and into his ear along with soft words of encouragement and love. Not only did she love how he felt inside of her, but she also adored the feeling of his weight on top of her and his chest pressing into hers, moving in a thousand points of contact and making her feel whole and loved. She nosed at his cheek until his mouth came into view and she latched onto it, pulling his tongue into her mouth. She would drink it if she could. She finally let him go when their lungs began to burn and at that moment she cried out his name loudly, her mind refocusing on where their bodies joined. It had grown hotter and more urgent and she could feel sparks of an impending orgasm starting to bubble in her pelvis.

As soon as he heard her voice, Ulquiorra sped up his pace. He could feel her nails dig into his skin and her legs tighten around his waist. Her body was encouraging him to bring her to ecstasy. If he was listening to his own body he would join her soon. “Orihime,” he murmured.

She would have answered him again but she was unable to articulate his name as her walls began to flutter around him, softly at first but then harder and tighter, trying to milk him dry as her vision went black and her blood caught fire. She was only able to cry out open-mouthed vocalizations and gasp and moan as he drove her over the edge.

His voice joined hers as he continued to thrust, feeling intense heat lick up his nerves. Shit. This was coming to an end. Pulses ran through his body as he was brought to that edge of orgasm and over it. He was left with ragged breathing and holding onto her for dear life.

She panted softly as the darkness caused by her orgasm slowly lifted. Her clawing hands on his back gentled and she breathed an affectionate sigh as she realized how he embraced her. She nuzzled her nose into his neck and kissed the skin there softly, punctuating each kiss with the words, “I love you”.

“I love you,” he replied in a soft tone. “Give me a moment to remember how my legs work and then I will move.”

“No rush, Darling. As far as I’m concerned you can just live right here in my arms,” she tightened her legs around his waist to drive the point home, inadvertently causing his softening member to push deeper into her again and making her whimper in pleasure. “Oops,” she said with a soft giggle.

His breath hitched because of the sensation before he chuckled. “Woman,” he said pushing himself up on his arms. “Give me an hour to recover from this round before initiating anything else.”

She whined an unspoken complaint at the distance between them, but knew he was right. “That was just an accident, honest,” she said with a half-smile. She knew she wouldn’t have to wait long for him. 


	26. Chapter 26

Ulquiorra looked at Urahara the next morning after he picked up Kazui and Eriko from Isshin’s home. Orihime’s birthday celebration went off without a hitch. He had delivered on every promise he had made to his girlfriend. He had made her a nice dinner of ginger pork and rice. He had given her multiple orgasms. He almost regretted waking up. Tessai plunked a cup of green tea in front of him.

Hmph.

“Good morning, Cifer-san and Eriko-chan! It’s nice to see you too, Kazui-kun!” The former shinigami chirped. “Isshin will be here in a little bit, so I thought we could get this pesky spiritual test out of the way.”

“What test will you be performing on us?” Ulquiorra inquired. Just because he was willing to accept the shinigami’s help didn’t mean he trusted him. 

Urahara shrugged. “Normal stuff. I’ve only tested one person before, and that was Ichigo. But,” here he paused and held up a finger as if he had the most brilliant idea ever, “I have formulated a battery of things to see exactly what you two are and what we’re dealing with.”

“Is it going to hurt?” Eriko asked. She felt like crap this morning and it was probably because Grandpa Isshin had loaded them up with candy and greasy, cheesy pizza. It was the most fun that the girl had had in a while.

“Urahara-san, you’re forgetting the Vizards. We did some tests on them,” Tessai said as he walked into the room with a tray of cookies. 

“Right,” Urahara said, drawing the word out. He tapped that fan on his chin for a few moments. “Well, as you can see Cifer-san, we have things handled.”

The dubious look on Ulquiorra’s face said otherwise. He didn’t think this guy knew his ass from a hole in the ground. It was irritating how flippant his attitude was. “Who will be going first?”

“You of course,” he replied, with a smile. “We will be doing a spiritual pressure gauge and Hollow versus Shinigami speed test. Yoruichi was kind enough to volunteer for any test where I’ll need a mark.”

“What about me?” the little girl asked.

Urahara knocked his hat back and smiled at Eriko. “Ah, don’t worry. We have several things to go over with you. Plus versus Hollow, if you have a soul chain, soul and body separation ability, spiritual level ability... We’re also going to see if you have any special tricks.”

It was then that a black cat came sauntering in the room. Eriko gasped and wiggled her fingers at the animal. “Would it be okay if I pet your cat?” 

The blond man giggled, which seemed really weird to Eriko, so she scowled at him.

“Let us take this down to the bunker,” Urahara said, getting to his feet. “We should begin, daylight is burning!”

***

“Yoruichi-san?” Kazui said to himself, watching the cat jump onto the ground of Urahara’s training facility. 

The girl saw the cat again. She saw the look on Kazui’s face. What was going on? “Who is Yoruichi?” she asked the boy. “That’s a cat, not a person.”

Kazui chuckled. “Looks that way, doesn’t it?” he said. He was in a good mood. With any luck, he might get to play with his zanpakuto today. “Hey, Yoruichi-san, do you want some catnip or a bit of tuna? I have an onigiri in my backpack.”

“Not hungry, but thank you. If you had any sake, I might take you up on that,” the cat replied.

Eriko held back a scream. Did that cat just talk? What the heck? Panic welled into her throat. “Am I dreaming? Did I wake up this morning? What is going on? That cat just talked? Am I drugged? Did I die? It was the pizza and the soda and the ice pops Grandpa fed to us!”

“You’re not dead, Eri,” Kazui laughed. “You can hear her? That’s awesome! You’re like me!”

The cat chuckled as well, not showing her face to the girl for fear of startling her further but responding, “This is a pleasant surprise. Eri, is it? Nice to meetcha.”

“The cat talked,” she croaked. Eriko crouched behind her father and looked at the cat. She could barely see the animal. “I think I’m sick or something. What do you mean I’m like you? I’m a girl. You’re a boy.”

“No, I mean you can hear Yoruichi!” the boy nearly crowed.

Eriko’s lip trembled and her eyes filled with tears. “What does that mean? Is it bad thing I can hear the cat? Is that her name? Yoruichi?”

“There’s nothing bad about it, Eri,” Kazui grinned at his friend. “Yes, that’s her name. You know how I can turn into a Shinigami, right? Well, Yoruichi is a bit like me, except she can turn into a cat! It’s awesome!”

“Uh, in a loose sense,” the cat replied with a chuckle.

“If you can see and hear, her you’re like my Aunt Karin, Eri. She can feel, see, and hear spiritual energy. Looks like you can, too. It’s cool!” The boy enthused.

The girl was unsure of all this. “You mean ghosts? Why can I see them? Can Dad see them?”

“Yes,” Yoruichi answered.

The girl was confused. “So instead of just looking like a freak, I really am a freak,” she complained, wailing loudly. “This is great.”

“It  _ is _ great,” Kazui replied with a wounded voice. “Why do you hate who we are?”

Eriko looked at Kazui and then at her father. “I don’t know what I am. I’m a human girl but you guys are telling me that I can see ghosts and hear cats talk. That’s a lot to take in for one day,” she said. “Well, I knew I could see something but this actually cements the fact.”

“Sounds like you know who you are to me,” Urahara reassured her. “Orihime-san is human, too, Eriko-san. So is Kazui.”

“Kinda,” the boy grumbled. He disliked it when his shinigami ability was minimized.

“Why isn’t this information in any of the books on puberty I’ve read?” Eriko wasn’t understanding this situation at all. It was scaring her. She was confused. “Is the baby going to be special too?” she asked her father.

“We won’t know until after it’s born, but probably,” Ulquiorra answered. 

Yoruichi looked at Ulquiorra curiously. “Baby, huh? I thought maybe her cake shop got the best of her. Does Isshin know?”

Isshin snorted as he walked up to the group standing in the underground room. “Yes, I know.”

“Wow. You kept that under wraps. Wonder why,” the feline murmured before walking over to the girl and headbutting her leg.

Eriko froze before she stared at the cat. “Can--Can I pet you? I’m sorry if that’s rude, but you look so soft--”

“Knock yourself out, kid. Just make sure you go with the direction of the hair. If you go against it, I can’t be held responsible for my reaction. It’s just so… Tingly.”

As Eriko petted the black cat, she looked up at her father who was studying her. “I’m okay. This is a lot to digest.”

Ulquiorra nodded. He knew it was a lot to take in, remembering what it was like to realize he was a live again. That fact had flabbergasted him for a couple of days. “Well, I have to say this to you Eriko: you do not need to be afraid of me.”

“Why would I be afraid?”

Ulquiorra turned to Urahara and nodded. The moment that the cane hit the center of his chest he felt like he couldn’t breathe. It felt like his throat closed up and refused to let any air pass. Then he felt the power surging through him. He could hear rumbling and then he felt it all go away. He opened his eyes to see Tessai carrying the gigai to a safe spot. Then he set a task to reacquaint himself with his actual form. He still had that ghastly pallor of a grayish-white, his hair still hung down his back and he still had those bat-like wings. He looked exactly like he did the moment he died. His vision was clearer. His hearing and sense of smell was keener. The air currents in the bunker could be felt on his skin. “The air down here tastes stale,” he said.

“Whoa! You look awesome!” Kazui cried, hopping from one foot to another in excitement. “Can I go next? Please? Please?!” he begged.

Ulquiorra turned his head to give the ginger a displeased look. “Ask your mother when she arrives,” he replied, before taking a step on those clawed feet. He had to be careful of his wings, which folded against his back. “Eriko?”

The girl had frozen, eyes staring at her father. They were wide with astonishment. Whoa didn’t even begin to cover the sentiment for this moment. “What are you?” she finally squeaked.

“That is what we’re going to find out,” Urahara said.

“Dude, you have to be some kind of half-dragon or something. Ooooh! What if you’re a demon? Or like Batman? Like, a weird Batman…” Kazui was just over-the-moon with the possibilities, and forgot his manners. 

Ulquiorra raised an eyebrow as his head whipped around to look at Kazui. “I am a bat. I’ve always had wings. Sadly, I do not have Bruce Wayne’s bank account.”

“So at least you’ve  _ seen _ Batman. That’s good. But a bat, huh? Do you make squeaky noises?” the boy asked, starting to approach him.

“Uh-uh,” Isshin scolded, grasping his grandson by the shoulder and pulling him back. “Cifer-san may be good at controlling his spiritual pressure, but it is too strong for you if any slips out, Kazui. It’s been some time since he had to control it. You will not approach, especially in your body.”

The creature threw Isshin a grateful look as he moved further away from the children. “I do not think it’s wise that they’re down here,” he said.

Urahara just smiled. “These tests will be over in a moment if you would quit stalling.”

“I’m not stalling.” That was the truth. Ulquiorra was trying to regulate his spiritual pressure; trying to control it. He didn’t want to lose control of it and kill anyone.

“The barrier is complete,” Tessai announced. As the others were awestruck by Ulquiorra’s transformation, he was constructing a kido barrier between Urahara and Ulquiorra and himself, Isshin, Yoruichi and the children. “It’s safe for you to release your spiritual pressure as long as you do not intentionally direct it at us.”

With a nod, Ulquiorra released his wings and his spiritual pressure, not surprised when a small cliff crumbled to the ground, littering the rocky floor with rocks and pebbles. 

Kazui beamed as he watched, and turned his excited face toward Eriko, only to see hers fearful and confused. His own expression fell into a concerned scowl. Eri needed to know she would be alright; that everyone here was on her side. He faced forward again and quietly took her hand, giving it a soft squeeze and not letting go.

Eriko gave him a smile, feeling her stomach flutter. Kaz still knew how to make her feel special. “I don’t know what to think,” she whispered.

He turned his face back to her and his scowl relaxed at her smile. “How do you feel? If you know that then it will probably be easier.”

The girl took a moment to analyze her thoughts and feelings. She felt a pull of power towards her father. It was as if her mind wanted to be on the other side of the barrier. “I’m not sure. That stuff I was feeling when those hollows came into town is back but it’s not as powerful.”

Kazui and Isshin chuckled softly, but it was Yoruichi who answered, rubbing her body against the girl’s leg to scratch an itch. “That is only because those other ones were weak. Ulquiorra is the strongest Arrancar I’ve personally met. I remember meeting him nearly eighteen years ago. He knocked another Espada flat on his ass with a flick of the wrist as if it was nothing. The difference between him and a hollow is that a hollow is ruled by instinct alone, while he probably has better control of his instincts than most humans.”

“He’s an Espada? What is that, exactly?”

“He  _ was _ an Espada. It’s what it was called to be ranked amongst the top ten strongest Arrancar when there used to be an Arrancar army.”

“So what is he now?”

“That’s what we’re trying to find out, Eriko.” Urahara smiled at her and then focused back on the winged man.

Ulquiorra was shifting his weight from one clawed foot to the other and stretching. He seemed uncomfortable. “Well?” he asked.

“There are sensors all over the bunker. I want you to fly from one end to the other and back again,” Urahara replied. “Then you’ll use Sonido to do the same thing.”

He nodded and was only gone a second before returning. The movement had been so fast that it was hard to track with a human’s vision.

“Holy crap!” Kazui squealed. “He’s as fast as Dad!” The boy added, looking at Isshin.

The older Kurosaki nodded and crossed his arms over his chest. “At least,” he replied, sounding distracted by what he was watching.

Ulquiorra folded his wings and did it again. Eriko didn’t even blink and there was a whoosh of sound. “What happened?”

“Your father just did a Sonido.”

“What’s that?”

“It’s how dark souls get around,” Urahara replied. “Shinigami use Shunpo.”

“Fun fact: I am the queen of Shunpo,” Yoruichi piped up, hopping up onto Tessai’s shoulders to see better. “Maybe I should get out of the fur suit and race him. What d’ya say, Kisuke?”

Ulquiorra turned around at this statement. “You think you can win?”

“You never know until you try, do you, Boyo?” she taunted. “Kazui, avert your eyes,” the cat warned, not waiting for him to comply before leaping up and transforming into a naked, brown-skinned woman. 

Isshin had been the one to clap a hand over the boy’s eyes just in time. “Really, Yoruichi? You couldn’t just wait a minute?”

“No time like the present, Isshin,” the woman said with a wide grin as she lifted her elbows over her head to pull her hair up into a ponytail, parading her body around everyone else without concern. “Kisuke, you have a set of my clothes down here, dontcha?”

Eriko’s mouth hung open. She had never seen another naked female. There was no way she was going to ever have a chest that big. “Dad!”

Ulquiorra rolled his eyes before he answered his child. “What?”

“You’re staring!”

“Tch. I am in a committed relationship with Orihime. She’s a shinigami anyway.”

Tessai allowed Yoruichi to pass through the barrier and after she did, she countered, “Doesn’t stop you though, does it?” she smirked before turning to get her clothing. “Don’t worry about it, I stare at myself all the time.”

The green-eyed male rolled his eyes and scoffed again. Yoruichi really thought a lot of herself. “As soon as you’re done being vain, we can finish this.”

“It’s not vanity, it’s the truth!” she said as she got dressed. “Are you ready to do this?” she added before squatting and limbering up.

“I’ve been ready, old lady.” In the end, Yoruichi ended up beating him by milliseconds.

After all the tests had been run, Ulquiorra stared at Urahara. “Your conclusion?”

“You’re not exactly an arrancar.” the man said. 

“And?”

“I’m not sure. My best guess would be that you’re closer to a Vizard.”

Ulquiorra scoffed upon hearing this. “You guess?”

“Cifer,” Urahara warned. “You’re were Vasto Lordes. Did Aizen use the Hogyoku on you?”

Shaking his head, Ulquiorra refused to answer the question. He could remember the pain of his mask cracking and all the changes he had gone through. It was the only time Ulquiorra had screamed out or shown emotion. 

“No he didn’t?”

“I was just given a job. I took it because I knew the power Aizen had. He could kill all of us if he wanted to.”

Urahara waved a hand. “You’re beyond a Vizard.”

Isshin interrupted. “How did you come to the World of the Living? What was the last thing you remember before that?”

This was an easy answer. “Dying.”

“And after that?”

“I woke up. I came back here. I know I can open a Garganta.”

“So you didn't wake up here… Hmmm.” that information knocked Isshin’s theory out of the water.

Ulquiorra had been teaching the children in his class about positive and negative numbers. It was fresh in young Kazui’s mind, and this discussion sparked an idea. “Is it possible, Urahara-san, that a hollow soul could gain a whole, or plus part, and then, I don’t know, cancel each other out? Be a neutral?” By the time he had finished saying it, he wasn’t even sure what he meant.

Ulquiorra shook his head. “When I gained a heart, I stopped being an arrancar. That’s my theory.”

“Works for me,” Yoruchi said with a nod. “Shall we put Eri-chan through her paces now? I’m getting hungry.”

***

Eriko stood on the other side of the barrier this time. Urahara had touched her chest with his cane and all of a sudden she couldn’t breathe. She clawed at her throat only to find out a moment later everything was okay. She felt free. It was only when she looked down at her arms did a wave of panic hit her.

She was the same color as her father. Her skin was bone white. Even her clothing was different. She had on some kind of jacket and white hakama. “Oh my god,” she said in a shaky voice. “What happened to me? What happened? Oh my god!”

“Eri! Eri it’s okay!” Kazui shouted at her. “Come on! Let me out! Let me show her that I change too!” this was directed at all the adults present.

A sigh came from Ulquiorra who was back in his Gigai. He looked at Kazui. “What am I supposed to tell your mother when you get hurt?”

“She could just reject it. You know that, don’t you?”

“She is also pregnant. I will not put that stress on your mother,” Ulquiorra stated. “But--”

“But she said I could show her if I ever came here! Come on!” he argued.

“Please Dad?”

The green-eyed man looked at his daughter before nodding. “Fine. Go ahead, Urahara.”

Tessai removed the kido barrier completely and Kazui jogged over to the man in the striped hat. “I’m ready!” Kazui chirped, holding his arms out to the side.

With a tentative smile on his face, Urahara touched the boy’s chest with the end of his cane. He knew that Kazui knew what to do. He was a smart boy who had been trained for moments like this.

Kazui’s body fell to a seated position and the boy’s spirit stood up straight, a woosh of energy radiating from him in warm waves, displacing dust on the ground and scattering it in a vortex around his legs and feet. He grinned and turned toward Ulquiorra and Eri, showing them his typical shinigami attire before flash-stepping over to his friend and asking, “So? What do you think?”

As soon as Eriko saw Kazui wearing a black outfit, she calmed down slightly. “Why do you have black clothing?”

“This is what Shinigami wear. I don’t know why, I guess because we’re supposed to be gods of death?” he said in the form of a question.

“No, it’s because it’s more formal and suited to a system of hierarchy like the one in the thirteen court guards of Soul Society,” Yoruichi countered with a yawn.

“Oh,” Kazui said, slightly embarrassed but not enough to dampen his enthusiasm. “Look, Eri, you’re basically wearing the same thing as me but in white. Fancy.”

“Wrong again. Eriko is wearing a version of an Espada uniform. It looks like the one I used to wear but it has no tails on the jacket. The clothing you wear is tied to your spiritual pressure.”

“Well, it looks awesome. People should wear stuff like that normally. But hold on, are you wearing makeup?”

Eriko turned and looked at her dad. “She has what is called Estigma. Fuck, Urahara. Do we even need to put her through these tests?”

“Hey! Think about it from Eri’s side,” Kazui interjected with just enough respect in his voice not to earn himself a smackdown. “You get worried when you don’t know who you are.” He turned back to her and reached behind his back. “Maybe you have something cool, like this,” he said, flashing his brows at her before pulling out his zanpakuto. It rather resembled his father’s false one, being long, thin, and black, but it had a thin aquamarine stripe down the side of the blade that reflected the light and a six-pointed flower as the hilt. “Check this out,” he said with a grin before bringing it down with a slash away from any of the people present, sending a shockwave of golden energy through the bunker and obliterating a large boulder. “Cool trick, eh?”

“Look at your side, Eriko.”

At her father’s words, the girl looked down and saw that she had a sword through the sash of the pants she wore. “What?”

She slowly pulled the weapon from its sheath and looked at it. As soon as it was free she felt her eyes roll back into her head. There was darkness surrounding her. She tried speaking but there was no one around. Then a flood a voices filled her brain. All Eriko knew next was her father was shaking her.

“Komori!” she said as soon as her eyes opened.

“What?” Ulquiorra asked as he looked down at his daughter. “What did you say?”

“Komori. The sword’s name is Komori.”

“Whoa! You already know its name? I  _ still _ don’t know mine!” Kazui said, slightly jealous.

The father of the girl turned and stared at Urahara. What did this mean? “Eriko, are you okay? What happened?”

She shook her head. “I pulled it out. And everything went black. The voices screamed her name.”

“Lucky…” Kazui mumbled, kicking the dirt at his feet.

“What’s lucky?” his mother’s voice called from above, having chosen that moment to arrive. She was in no condition to climb down a ladder, so she called out her defense Rikka to make a horizontal shield, which she rode down the the ground level. Eri’s back was to her at that time, and she focused on her son.

“Kazui, looking good!” she said with a small smile, before looking up and catching the worried look on her boyfriend’s face. “What’s wrong, Ulquiorra?” she asked, approaching him.

Ulquiorra looked at the woman who was carrying his child. He stood and looked at Eriko then back at Orihime. “I have to talk to you,” he said taking her by the arm.

“What? Please tell me,” she whispered as he herded her away.

He looked back at his child and then at Orihime again. “Eriko is an Arrancar.”

Orihime’s brows wrinkled in confusion. “An Arrancar? But the spiritual pressure is not the same,” she said, turning her head toward where Ulquiorra had been looking.

“Orihime, she looks like an Arrancar. She looks like me. Her estigma is a different color and she doesn’t have a mask fragment but...”

It was too late, Orihime had seen her. Her right hand flew over her mouth and before Orihime knew what was happening, she began to weep.

Kazui’s eyes darted from hers, to Ulquiorra’s, and to Eriko’s, then back to Orihime’s, worried that his mother was disturbed or upset and about to have another episode, but then his eyes widened as Orihime did something no one expected.

The red-haired woman started slowly, but then quickly closed the distance between herself and Eriko, and, wiping the tears out of her eyes, got down on her knees in front of her. “Eri… Oh, my sweet Eri. You’re so, so beautiful. I can’t-- I don’t know why, but I feel that I’ve seen you like this before. Maybe it was a dream, I don’t know, but…” her emotional, breathy voice trailed off and she raised a hand to the girl’s cheek as a small, trembling smile pulled at her lips. “You are perfect, Eri,” she finally whispered before pulling the girl into a hug.

Eriko could feel her face get warm and she ducked her head, burying her face in Orihime’s shirt. She had never felt this kind of emotion flowing through her. It was different than she was used to. “Thank you,” she said quietly. “But I look different. I look like Daddy.”

“Well, Dad looks different when he’s in his body, doesn’t he? Kazui looks a bit different, too. I can’t leave my body. Fullbringers can’t, so you’re lucky. Not only are you a beautiful human girl, you’re also a beautiful soul.” The woman turned her face toward the girl’s father. “If his soul looks like you, I really, really want to see it,” she said with an affectionate smile before returning the expression to the girl.

Without warning, Urahara touched his cane to Ulquiorra’s chest. The green-eyed man suddenly couldn’t breathe again. Then there was a snap as his wings unfolded. Ulquiorra whirled around and snarled at the blond man. “What the fuck?!”

Naturally, Orihime’s attention was drawn in the direction of the the sound and spiritual pressure coming from Ulquiorra. She saw black legs, wings, long black hair, and a pair of white horns. She didn't immediately recognize it. She said, a bit absently, “You don’t look like that, Eri.”

Eriko tugged on Orihime’s sleeve. “No, I’m white as him and look at my nails!”

Ulquiorra wasn’t sure what to do as he turned around slowly. “Orihime,” he said.

Orihime had turned to look at the girl’s black nails, nodded and then turned back toward Ulquiorra. She didn't say anything. She didn't react at first. Instead, she just stared, her head slowly tilting to the right after a few moments. “It feels like I am starting and stopping,” she finally murmured, her brows furrowing a bit. “I want to say something, but it’s stuck in my throat. I want to know something, but I can’t recall it. I  _ know _ that the words and memories are there. I absolutely know it. You are not a stranger to me like this, but I don’t know why, and I am so, so sorry.” She didn't know how to feel at this moment. Yes, she was awestruck by Ulquiorra’s form. She was just so distracted by this infuriating barrier in her mind that kept her from the truth. 

Orihime looked back at the girl and saw worry on her face. She took her by the hand and gave it a squeeze before standing up and walking toward her father with her in tow. “Anyway, it doesn’t matter. I’m not afraid. And I was right, he is rather aesthetically pleasing like this, don’t you think? It’s nice to have such a striking dad. The girls in your class probably all have little crushes on him,” she said with a chuckle before stopping in front of Ulquiorra and taking his hand in her other one. “My, but you are strong,” she whispered at him with a little grin.

“Woman,” he said, before drawing her close to him. His voice got stuck in his throat as emotion overcame him. It took him several moments to collect himself. “I knew you weren’t afraid. You reached out to me.” Ulquiorra finished speaking and kissed her.

As the kiss broke, Orihime began to cry. She didn't know the cause, but she was filled with an enormously profound sense of relief; as if all of her sins had been forgiven and she had been redeemed. She reached around behind Ulquiorra, tangling a hand in his long hair gently and pressing her face into his hard, hierro-covered chest. “Thank you. Thank you,” she said between sobs, “Thank you.”

He felt a pain go through his chest as she cried. He hugged her close, not understanding why she was thanking him. “Orihime? What is wrong?”

“Nothing. Not anymore,” she answered, shaking her head slightly. “You came back. You came back and you don’t hate me.”

“I’ve never hated you. I’ve never blamed you for anything. I love you,” he murmured to her.

“I love you,” she answered.

“Ahem. If you’re about done with your little whatever-this-is,” Yoruichi muttered, standing with her arms crossed and weight on one leg, perturbed that she was no longer interesting to anyone in the room, “Are we finished with what we had to do? I’m hungry.”

“We will discuss this more at home. Right now Eriko needs to be put through her paces.”

As it turned out, Ulquiorra’s daughter was somewhere between an Arrancar and a Vizard. She fell into an unknown category like he did. She could use Sonido, but she didn’t like it because it made her dizzy. Ulquiorra had chuckled at this. She could separate her soul from her body, even though it took a moment for her to figure out. Eriko whined about it.

“Dad!”

“You just lay down and your soul seeps back into your body. Urahara might be willing to train you more in this activity.” 

Urahara had nodded.

She could throw small Balas at people. Yoruichi was having fun at batting them away from the spectators.

It was only when Urahara drew his Zanpakuto and sent a jet of red light towards Kazui that they saw real action from the girl. She immediately raised a hand, feeling afraid that her best friend was going to get hurt. What Eriko didn’t understand was that the dark energy building inside of her was going to cause a reaction to happen. She screamed out the word no, just as a dark green beam of energy shot from her finger at the man wearing the striped hat.

Orihime only had one shield, which she used to protect Kazui, so she was glad that the shopkeeper was a nimble old fucker and was able to deflect Eriko’s cero with Benihime. When the dust had cleared and everyone was determined to be okay, she marched over to said fucker and slapped him across the face. She didn't back down after that, pointing a finger in his face and snarling, “Don’t you EVER pull a stunt like that again! Ever!”

Urahara nodded. He wasn’t expecting Ulquiorra to punch him in the face. “If you ever do that again, I will break the dampeners on this gigai and I will hunt you down,” the green eyed man said.

Eriko looked at Kazui and frowned. “Did I do something wrong?” she whispered.

Kazui had bounded over to her and shook his head, a gleeful smile on his face. “No, that was totally awesome. You can shoot stuff like that!? And, um, thanks, by the way,” he added quietly, his cheeks coloring as he looked down. “You tried to protect me.”

The girl shook her head and grabbed Kazui’s arm. “No, I got scared,” she replied. “I d on’t even know what I did.”

It was Ulquiorra who answered her. “That was called a Cero. I’ve never seen one that dark, though.”

“Thank you, Eriko,” Orihime said in earnest, trying to calm down, and offering a bow to the girl from the waist. “Thank you for protecting Kazui.”

The green-eyed man sighed. “Eriko, get back into your body. We are leaving. I think we’ve all had enough excitement for one day.”

“Aw,” Kazui whined. “Do I have to go? Can I stay and fight with Yoruichi?”

“No,” Orihime and Ulquiorra answered in unison.

“Ha ha ha, a united front is too powerful, Kazui. Back in your body you go,” his grandfather said, plopping it in front of him and chuckling as the boy grumbled and complied.

Ulquiorra turned towards Urahara with a serious expression. “I will be speaking to you about this later.”


	27. Chapter 27

Orihime and Ulquiorra took his car back into Karakura the following Saturday, even though it was Orihime’s day off. They needed to get some clarification from Urahara regarding his assessments of the Cifers. Orihime decided the drive over would be a good opportunity to discuss something with Ulquiorra that had been nagging at her over the course of the week.

“So, I have a question for you,” she started, trying to be casual.

“Hmmm?” he voiced as he sat behind the wheel, focusing on the road. “What is your question?”

“On my birthday, you had left a box on my old bed, and you mentioned wanting to show it to me, but we never got to it. What was that?”

A heavy sigh left Ulquiorra and he glanced at Orihime. After the night of sex and hedonism, he didn’t feel it was right to show his girlfriend the item in the box. “It was something trivial and idiotic. Just old memories.”

“I think it’s kind of insensitive to call old memories trivial to someone dealing with memory loss, but I will let it slide,” she teased. “Still, why would you call it trivial? You obviously wanted to show me, and I’ll be honest, I am very curious.”

“I’ve already shown it to you,” Ulquiorra replied. “A picture of it, but I was going to show you the real thing.”

“I want to see it,” she said, looking over at him. “For real.”

He glanced at her again. “Can you tell me why you want to see it?”

“I don’t know. I just do. Would it make you feel better if I showed you some of my old memories? I keep a box of journals and keepsakes in my closet. We could exchange?” she offered hopefully.

“Is there something you hope to accomplish with this?”

She sighed softly. “I don’t know. Maybe it will help me feel closer to you. Maybe it will help unlock my memories. Maybe.”

Those words made him rethink his stance on the subject. He was silent for several moments as he drove. “Don’t you want to know what’s in the box? I could be giving you a head or something.”

She laughed. “What a gruesome idea. Well if it is a severed head, at least I’ll know to run for the hills,” she laughed again. “Seriously though, I want to know. You can tell me if you want, but I want to see it the way you imagined showing me before.”

Ulquiorra turned his head and looked at the woman. “You will let me read your innermost thoughts for a chance to see my helmet and hear the story behind it?”

She grinned. “I will, but I have to warn you, after I write my journals, I almost never read them again; they’re too cringe-inducing. But you might find some pictures or crappy poetry in there too,” she said with an embarrassed laugh.

He chuckled. “I will show you if you really want to see it. But it will have to wait until after this excursion.”

Orihime clapped her hands twice. “Yay!” she cheered softly. “I’m kind of excited, not just to see your thing, but I kind of wonder… Oh. Oh dear. Can I modify my offer?” Her face was starting to turn a brilliant shade of red as she remembered some of her most recent entries.

“All sales are final but I’m willing to compromise.” Ulquiorra gave her a smile.

“No. No, you’re right, but be forewarned, the last volume was thrown into the box _after_ we met, and I kind of… Oh god, this is embarrassing.”

This time the smile widened. “What did you write?”

“Um… I kind of wrote about how hot I thought Kaz’s new teacher was? And I might have mentioned a dirty dream?” She was about to die of mortification.

Biting his lower lip, Ulquiorra thought about the words his girlfriend could have written and smirked. “Did you ever imagine you’d be with his hot teacher?”

She squirmed a bit. “Ulquiorra,” she whined. “You’ll know when you read it, but if you must know… Yes. You, uh, you were the first man I felt attracted to after my husband died, and it wasn’t just a little bit, either.”

“Woman, you must know as soon as I saw you I wanted to make you mine.”

“Are you sure about that? Because I distinctly remember you overpaying for an inappropriate plant and running away like I had the plague.”

“That was the best plant I’ve ever purchased. Not to mention my kid probably ate my change in cake. I ran from you because I was scared.”

“Scared of what? I am practically a kitten. A baby bunny is scarier than me.”

A soft scoff left him. “I was afraid that you’d leave me again. That you wouldn’t want me. That you would take one look at me and say no.” Ulquiorra sighed as they got closer to the shoten. “I’m still afraid that will happen.”

Orihime’s heart broke a little hearing him admit that, and she put a hand on his shoulder. “I would never leave you, Ulquiorra. Not just because of the baby, either, although that is a big thing. I love you. My heart is not fickle.”

“Why did you choose Kurosaki the first time?” he asked, hating himself for how the words rolled off his tongue like a reflex. He should not be bringing this up. He knew why she had chosen the shinigami over him. “I apologize,” Ulquiorra stated.

“It’s a fair question, Ulquiorra,” she said, but sighed a bit, aware that he wasn’t going to like the answer. “I chose him because I loved him. I loved him long before I went to Hueco Mundo. We were comrades. I thought he was kind and good looking. He did the same kinds of things that Kazui does sometimes; made me feel special without even trying.” She squeezed Ulquiorra’s arm and continued, “I know you said we had something between us in Hueco Mundo, and I’m sorry that I cannot remember. I’m sorry that I did something that made you feel abandoned. But you once said you didn’t realize you loved me until you were dying. I don’t know how I felt, but I know that your death hurt me. Still, I want you to know that I don’t think I chose Ichigo _over_ you; I think I just chose him before I knew you. My heart is not fickle, like I said. And honestly, he and I had a lot of good years. We had a nice life, until we didn't. And sadly, we didn't for a couple years before he died.” She cringed by the time she was done, worried that she had said too much. 

Ulquiorra gave a nod as if he understood what she was saying. He didn’t understand, because he never saw the proof that Kurosaki had any interest in her. The ginger had doubted Orihime’s loyalty. “It’s in the past; let’s put it behind us.”

“There’s one more thing I want you to know, and I warn you, it’s going to sound like I’m a horrible person. I don’t mean it that way, but I don’t think there is a way to say it without sounding that way. I’m glad that he died. I’m glad that I met him and married him and had Kazui and led my young life how I did, and I’m glad that he died and that I met you at this time in my life. I have never been happier than I am now.”

As Ulquiorra pulled near the shoten and turned the car off, he looked at Orihime. “If you’re a horrible person because of that, then I am too. I’m glad that you are able to be with me.”

She took his hands in hers, bringing them toward her and kissing the backs of his thumbs. “No regrets. Not a single one.”

He kissed the backs of her hands and then smiled at her. “Shall we go in and hear what Urahara has to say?”

She nodded. “Let’s go.” She didn’t wait for him to lead as she opened the door and started toward the shop. 

The shoten was quiet when they walked in together. Urahara was waiting behind the counter, sitting on a stool. “Good morning. What can I do for you two?”

“Well, for starters, how about some specificity? Has your research brought anything new to light?” Orihime asked, not appreciating the shopkeeper’s obtuseness.

The blond man’s eyes darted back and forth between the woman and other man. “I’ve come to the conclusion that Cifer is a type of Vizard.”

“What about Eriko?” Ulquiorra asked.

It was then the man stood and walked over to the door that would lead them into the living area of the place. “Come,” he said.

Orihime nodded and followed Urahara, reaching behind her for her boyfriend’s hand. She didn't know why, but she felt mildly relieved at Urahara’s classification of Ulquiorra. The familiarity of the Vizards to her was probably it, she decided. Several of them had been kind to her in the past.

While Ulquiorra knew he wasn’t exactly hollow, he had not been expecting the diagnosis of Vizard. He was a mix of hollow and human. “Why can’t you just tell us?” he asked as they walked into a different room.

“Because this is going to be a long discussion, Cifer. Please have a seat,” Urahara said, gesturing for the two to sit at the small table in the middle of the room.

“Why?” Orihime asked as she got down carefully to the ground, using the table as support. Her belly had popped out a bit over the past week and she felt off-balance.

“Cifer, how is the power of an Arrancar tested? How is it measured?” 

Ulquiorra looked at Urahara and shrugged. “I’ve no clue. I would guess the more power a hollow had the more human their appearance was. It’s what I overheard Aizen saying to Gin.”

“Gigais are just meat suits. They’re for containing a soul. Sometimes we need failsafes put onto these containers. I was not aware that Gigais were able to reproduce.”

“What if...” the green-eyed man stopped for a moment to think this question over. “Wait, what about Isshin?”

“I’m getting to that,” he said. “If it was just a soul in a gigai, I don’t think it would be able to reproduce. With having souls that are of Espada class and Captain class…”

“Well?”

“It’s your soul that made Eriko,” Urahara said.

Ulquiorra looked at the man absolutely shocked and then he turned to Orihime. “What is he saying?”

Orihime looked back at him wide-eyed and bewildered. “I think he means that your soul is so powerful that it is able to reproduce? Maybe it has creative properties? I don’t know. Isshin was a shinigami captain and he sired children while in a gigai. He told me he always wanted children and wished he had more, so maybe it was just a function of wish fulfillment and having the spiritual virility to pull it off?” she theorized.

Urahara nodded and decided to add to it. “Cifer, you are powerful. I put you in a heavy duty Gigai and you burned through it. I put dampeners in so that you could live as a human. That’s what you wanted. It’s the power of your soul that allowed you to reproduce, not the gigai. You passed down your powers or you passed some of them on to your daughter.”

His forehead wrinkled as he sought to make sense of all of this. “Because I have a high spiritual pressure…”

“Think about it, Ulquiorra. When Eriko was conceived, how did you feel? Had you been dissatisfied with your life? Did you feel adrift? Were you, on some level, searching for greater purpose or connection?” Orihime asked.

“I was surviving. I took comfort in my routine. Yuko was around. The night Eriko was made, she gave me a pill.”

Orihime shook her head in apparent disapproval of Yuko’s use of drugs to seduce Ulquiorra and asked, “So did this pill negate your inhibitions? Make you drop your guard?”

He was silent for several seconds. “It made me want her. It made me feel free, like I was flying.”

She did not need to know that he _wanted_ Yuko, she thought to herself, as a little stab of jealousy made her belly burn and brow crease. “TMI,” she muttered under her breath before continuing at a regular volume, “Anyway, when Three was conceived, or around then, how did you feel?”

“I’m not sure. I knew I wanted a connection to you. I knew that I felt desire for you. I felt love,” Ulquiorra stated before he felt his face grow warm. 

“You told me that you loved me that day,” Orihime replied as her features relaxed into a gentle smile and that jealous pang gave way to a pleasant bubbling sensation in her chest at the memory. She held his hand despite their audience. “Your soul perhaps wished to cement our bond. There is no more effective way than creating a new life together, I think.”

He only became more confused. “But I don’t understand. I never felt love toward Yuko. She was familiar to me. I somewhat enjoyed spending my free time with her.”

“Ulquiorra, there are reasons other than love to wish for connections with people. You’d been living as a human for years at that point. You were probably lonely. Maybe Yuko would not have fulfilled that void, but Eriko could. You absolutely love her.”

He still didn’t understand. Ulquiorra had never been lonely. He enjoyed his time to himself. As an Espada he didn’t need to rely on any other creature. “So my body knew I was subconsciously lonely and decided to mate?”

“Cifer, that’s a brash way of thinking about it but, yes, somewhat. Each instance that you’ve been able to reproduce your soul wanted something.” Urahara looked at the woman. “Hime-chan seems to grasp this better than you.”

A memory assaulted the woman’s consciousness and for a few moments she seemed to lose focus, looking almost through Ulquiorra as she spoke in an immature, hollow tone, “What is the heart? You won’t find it in my chest or skull, Ulquiorra. It’s the thread that binds us together. It’s the reason I cannot fear you. It’s the reason you won’t—“ Her words were cut off with a harsh gasp as she snapped back to reality and her eyes came back into focus. “What was that?” She asked him, totally spooked.

The green-eyed man’s mouth dropped open. She sounded just like she as he left the caja negacion. “I have no clue,” he replied. “Did you remember something?”

“I think so,” she whispered. “It felt like a memory.”

“I’ve asked you several times that question. I asked you if I crack open your chest or skull, would I find it,” Ulquiorra said. “I asked you if you were afraid of me. It wasn’t Tsukishima, Orihime.”

“I remember thinking about what you said. I remember knowing that you wouldn’t hurt me. We were already connected…” she murmured, sliding her hand up his arm and leaning against it with a trembling sigh. “You and me. It was you and me in that fortress, wasn’t it?”

Ulquiorra nodded. He glanced at Urahara for a moment. “Can you help us?”

“I don’t know if I can,” the blond man replied.

Orihime was shaken. It seemed to her that although she recalled her own thoughts about that conversation and her grief when Ulquiorra died, she still could not remember _him_. And beyond that, she felt like there was something else, something worse, that was blocked from her recollection. It was starting to give her stress. “Ow,” she hissed, feeling a twinge of pain shoot from her hip up her spine, and the onset of a headache take hold as her features took on a pinched expression.

His arms went around Orihime and he stroked her back as he held her. “Is there anyway to speak to this Tsukishima?”

“I have no clue, Cifer. The last I heard of the Fullbringers is that they were under the observation of Mayuri Kurotsuchi. He’d much rather have me arrested than talk to me,” Urahara said.

The man sighed. He wanted to help Orihime with this, but didn’t know how. He wanted to break whatever mental wall all those memories were hiding behind. “Would you like to go home, Orihime?”

She nodded. “I’m sorry; we came here for answers.”

“It’s fine, Orihime. We can always come back or perhaps we can use the phone to converse. We don’t need to be around people who trigger things like this,” Ulquiorra stated. He got to his feet and then helped Orihime up.

She leaned into him, cupping her forehead with one hand. “I don’t know what is wrong with me. I think I just need to remember. Once I can just remember everything should be fine. I’m thirsty though. Let’s go back to the shop; it’s closer and we can take something to drink upstairs and rest a bit.”

***

Ulquiorra practically hovered over Orihime, making sure she was okay. He didn’t want something serious to happen to her. He decided to bring something up as he got her settled in upstairs with some tea. “I think we should hire another person to help out. I can’t be here during the day while the shop is actually open except on the weekends. Although Riruka was useless at times, I’m sure we will need to find someone to fill her spot.”

Orihime groaned, squeezing her eyes closed. “I know. I know, I don’t want to, but I know. I’ve already written an advertisement. I didn't want to have to, but Satomi can’t take many more hours, and by the end of the day my feet and ankles are swollen and my back is sore. I didn't want you to worry, but that part is getting worse, not better.”

“Orihime,” he said, coming to sit on the bed where she was. “I worry about you regardless. I’m constantly thinking about you and wondering if you’re okay. I love you, Woman, I only want to see you happy.”

“I know. I’ll post the ad tomorrow,” she answered, leaning her head on his shoulder. “Oh! I remember one thing, at least,” she said, sitting straight and then taking a sip of tea before setting it down and standing up. “I’ll be right back!” There was a smile in her voice that wasn’t there before.

Ulquiorra raised an eyebrow then frowned at his girlfriend. She really was like night and day at times. At least he got her to agree to hire another person to help out.

A shuffling sound could be heard from the closet, then a soft thud. “God bless it,” Orihime muttered in irritation, then more shuffling sounds. After another minute, Ulquiorra heard a triumphant voice call, “Ah ha! Success!”

Orihime returned to the bed and set a yellow plastic tote with a light purple cover on the bed beside Ulquiorra. It was heavier than she remembered, and she released it with a soft, “Oof. There, as promised, half a lifetime of memories. Maybe you’ll find something in there that would be helpful. At least you might find something amusing. I’m pretty sure there are pictures in there,” she said with a giggle. Part of her was hoping to capture yet more of his heart with this gesture.

Oh, they were doing this exchange now? His gaze flickered to her face and he gave her a small smile. “I took the box home, so you’ll have to wait for the other half of this agreement.”

“It’s fine, we should take it with us and get back to the kids soon anyway. I just want to rest my back for a minute,” she said, reclining across the bed.

“You were a lot younger when you had Kazui. Perhaps we should find an actual doctor that deals with pregnancy.” Ulquiorra didn’t like the idea, but maybe there was something wrong with Orihime… Something Isshin couldn’t fix.

“Are you calling me old, Cifer?” Orihime asked, scowling at him in jest. “I guess I am. Anyway, I have a check up in two weeks. I’ll talk to Isshin before that, though, just to be sure.”

Ulquiorra bit his lip to stifle a chuckle. He was implying that she was old, but not decrepit. “Thank you. It will put my mind at ease. I do appreciate everything you do, Orihime. I want you to know that.” He laid a hand on her thigh before laying down beside her. 

“Ooh!” she peeped, raising her head off the bed and looking down at her belly in concentrated silence for a moment.

“What?” He sat up in alarm. Had he harmed her? Did he hurt her? “Do I need to call Isshin? Do you need medical attention?”

A smile appeared before she spoke, in almost a whisper, “No, I think I just felt the baby move. It’s just a flutter; you wouldn’t be able to feel it from the outside. It’s kind of early, but I’m pretty sure…” her eyes found his, and they sparkled with joy.

His face relaxed and Ulquiorra moved his hand to her abdomen. “You are pretty sure what? What do you mean you felt the baby move. How can you feel that?”

“The baby has space to swim around in there. When he is big enough, when he touches the wall or jerks, I’ll be able to feel it. As he gets bigger you’ll be able to feel and maybe even see it.”

“That’s terrifying,” Ulquiorra commented while retracting his hand. He looked at her before he kissed her. “And to think you have to feel all of that.”

“You won’t think so when you feel it, I promise. Your little soccer player will make himself known,” she said with a chuckle. 

“You think it’s a boy?”

She looked a bit like she had been caught by his question, her cheeks coloring and lips pursing before she nodded. “Yeah, I’ve thought so for a couple of weeks now. I don’t know why, it’s just a strong feeling. I didn't want to say anything though.”

“Oh,” he said. Ulquiorra frowned for a moment. He was kind of stuck on Orihime having a girl. He knew what female children were like. He had no experience with males. “As long as they’re healthy.”

Orihime chewed on the inside of her cheek, thinking for a moment. “Well, if Three is a boy, Eriko would have no competition for the title of “daddy’s princess”, so it might make things easier,” the woman countered.

“Eriko already has competition for being the princess,” he said.

“Who?” Orihime’s mouth froze in an ‘o’ shape, her brow wrinkled in confusion.

“You? Doesn’t your name mean princess too?”

Orihime’s face lit up as she laughed. “I suppose it does, but I’m too _old_ to be a princess, remember?”

“I never said you were old. You made came to that conclusion on your own,” Ulquiorra said. He was going to say more but his phone rang. It was Eriko’s ringtone. “That would be our children.”

“Duty calls. Can you bring the box? It’s a bit heavy.”

Ulquiorra helped her up before he grabbed the tote. “Lead the way,” he said. 


	28. Chapter 28

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> MAD fluff alert. Have a tissue at the ready.

After dinner that night, Ulquiorra sat his daughter down on the couch. He had some things to explain to her. “You know we went to see Urahara, right? He gave us the results of those tests we did the other day. You and I are not exactly human, Eriko.” 

“Duh, I know that.”

A sigh left him. Of course his daughter was going to be difficult. “I am now what is referred to as a Vizard. I’m a hollowfied soul. I used to be what is known as an Arrancar; an Espada.”

“I thought you were just making up words,” she said, staring at her dad. The girl waited for her father to correct her.

This caused Ulquiorra to shake his head. “Hollow. Arrancar. Espada. Gigai. Shinigami. Zanpakuto. Fraccion. All of those words used to pertain to my world,” he said, then continued, “I was a bad guy. Do you understand?”

She nodded. “But you’re not now, right?”

Ulquiorra mimicked the action. “Shinigami and Quincys would still think I’m a bad guy if they find out who and what I am. I died and somehow came back to life. No one knows what happened or how it happened, but I ended up in the world of the living.” 

Orihime listened to Ulquiorra’s explanation with a frown. “There is something you need to understand about hollows, Eri-chan. They aren’t bad in the way we think of it. I know you know the difference between good guys and bad guys. Bad guys choose to do the wrong thing for selfish reasons, right?” She waited for confirmation of the girl’s understanding.

The girl nodded and Orihime continued. “Hollows do bad things because it’s their nature. They don’t choose to be that way any more than a shark chooses to eat other fish. It’s just who they are. I’m not just saying this to defend your father. My brother turned into a hollow and he hurt me. He attacked me more than once, and he tried to kill me. He didn't do it because he was a bad guy, though. He did it because he was hollow. He did it because it was natural.” She wasn’t sure if she was getting through and sighed.

The man held a hand up. He could see Eriko was becoming overwhelmed with this information. “You have questions, don’t you?”

“So you hurt people, Dad?”

“No. I never hurt anyone unless they stood in my way. I killed many other hollows, but I refrained from fighting at all. I only engaged in combat if it was inevitable.”

Green eyes sought out her father’s gaze and Eriko held it for a moment. “Why? Why are you a bad guy? Why did you become a hollow? What does that make me?”

A sigh left Ulquiorra. He wasn’t sure how much of his past as a human he should reveal. “Sometimes humans die with regrets or they’re filled with sorrow. I don’t remember the details of my first death, but I know when I woke up in Hueco Mundo I was a Vasto Lordes,” Ulquiorra answered. He continued to talk because he knew that Eriko would ask more questions. “It’s another word for a hollow. It’s a very powerful hollow. Urahara… He said you’re a half-arrancar, half-human hybrid.”

“What?”

“Eriko, please listen to me. My soul… My spiritual pressure was strong. Very strong. It wanted something--I wanted something. I was...” Ulquiorra trailed off, unable to explain this to the girl.

Orihime put a hand on Ulquiorra’s shoulder before she spoke. “Your father was alone for a very long time. It was fine when he was an Arrancar, but as humans, we need connections to other humans. Without that connection we become lonely, and our souls become weak.”

“So what does that mean? You just went out and made a baby?”

The man shook his head. “You don’t need the details, but I didn’t just decide to make you. I didn’t know about you until you were three months old. What I’m trying to say is that my soul was lonely. My heart wanted something or someone to love completely. That is probably why you were conceived.’” Ulquiorra looked at Orihime for a moment before he swallowed. “We have a theory that I wanted to be bonded to Orihime, so again that happened.”

Orihime sighed. This was a heavy topic for a girl Eriko’s age. “I don’t know for sure of course, but it makes sense to me. There was an Espada who was so powerful, and so human-like, that he broke a piece of his soul off on purpose to create a companion, because none of the souls he found in the hollow world could survive in his presence. And, as a side note, he was a benevolent soul. He really only cared about being lazy and having his companion. I wouldn’t even call him a bad guy, except for that he worked for a very, very bad guy.”

“Starrk,” Ulquiorra murmured. He remembered the Primera Espada and his loud-mouth companion. He always wondered why the Arrancar had done that. It didn’t seem important at the time, but now it did. “Is Starrk still alive? We could ask him.”

Orihime shook her head and looked to the ground. “No, I’m sorry.”

Of course he wasn’t alive. He had fought in the Winter War. Those ruthless shinigami wouldn’t have kept any of them alive. “You’re human, Eriko. As long as you stay in your body, you are human, do you understand?”

“Am I going to be bad?” The girl looked afraid. “Am I going to turn into a hollow?”

“No, sweetie. We need to explain better. You know about evolution, right?” Orihime asked, scrunching her features.

Eriko nodded. “Yeah, it’s explained in a science book that Dad bought.”

“Well, there are different classifications of hollows; and they can be compared to the theory of evolution. You know how humans and monkeys are meant to have a common ancestor?” She saw the girl nod a bit and continued. “Well, you can see that humans and monkeys are very different. Humans use more complicated tools and systems and language; we have complex laws and morality. Monkeys, on the other hand, are much simpler and are seemingly ruled by base, instinctual needs. In the same way, there are regular hollows, which are like monkeys. They do bad things because they need to, or they won’t survive. But then there are Arrancar, which are like humans. They can understand the implications of their actions. They can choose what they want and how to act. Do you understand what I am saying?”

“What about Kazui?” Eriko asked Orihime. “He said we were alike. If I’m a bad soul... ”

“Kazui has told you that he is a Shinigami right?”

“Yeah, but I don’t see how we’re alike.”

“Kazui’s father was a Shinigami, and a hollow, and a Quincy, and a Fullbringer. So far we know that Kazui has inherited the Shinigami side of things. The hollow side only appeared in his father after he had been training and was pushed to dangerous extremes. We may never know whether Kazui has any hollow aspect of his soul. But it doesn’t matter. Having a hollow aspect of your soul does not make you bad. Kazui’s father was a very good person. Your father is a very good person. You are a very, very good person, Eriko.”

“But--”

“No,” Ulquiorra said, holding up his hand. “No. The same rules that apply to Kazui now apply to you. You are not to leave your body. You are not to tell anyone about you.”

“And remember, sweetie, just because you’ve learned something new about yourself doesn’t mean you are different than who you were before. You’re the same person you were yesterday and the same person you were last year. You just have a new label.”

Eriko looked at Orihime and then her father. She didn’t know why they explained things when it just confused her more. “What about when I feel that pressure? I get so angry and I want to hurt someone. How do I deal with that?”

A frown appeared on the man’s face. “Training, just like kendo. You must train your mind to resist this. What you’re feeling are hollows appearing in the world of the living. Resist those dark emotions.”

Orihime nodded. “Even if you didn’t have to deal with hollows, you would need to learn how to deal with negative feelings. It’s part of growing up. But, now you’re kind of in the advanced class, so to speak,” Orihime said.

“It really sucks Kazui doesn’t have to deal with this kind of stuff,” Eriko said, pouting.

Orihime shook her head. “Do not wish to trade places with him. He’s pretty happy now, but he struggled a lot before he met you and your dad. He was headed to a dark place. You two helped him. We’re here to help you now, Eri.” Orihime didn’t want to get into specifics about Kazui’s grief and rebellion.

The girl slumped into the couch and sighed. She didn’t really believe what Orihime was saying, but she didn’t want to cause a fight. “Was Yuko special? Like did she shoot lasers out of her fingers or have wings?”

“No, Eriko. She was a normal human.”

“Oh.”

***

After the kids were in bed that night, Orihime was exhausted. “If you don’t mind, Ulquiorra, I think I am just going to pass out tonight,” she mumbled while melting into her side of the bed.

It was soon that Orihime was snoring softly. Ulquiorra slipped out of bed and walked downstairs. He had put the tote she gave him earlier in the hall closet, content to let it sit there, but he was curious about what the box was hiding. Orihime just said there were journals and trinkets in there. He pulled the box out and took it to the living area.

It was quiet in the house as Ulquiorra laid on the couch. Everyone was asleep. He could hear Kazui mumbling in his sleep about ice cream. It would be safe to read these now. He picked up the oldest looking one and opened it. The date was from seventeen years ago. Shit. Really? Had she kept details of her life from that long ago?

Ulquiorra closed it and set the book beside him. In all there were probably seven small journals filled with memories and other parts of Orihime’s life. As he rummaged in the bottom of the tote, his hand hit something. It was circular in shape and wrapped in paper. He had to keep from releasing an exasperated sigh. 

Of course she kept it.

Carefully, as not to rip the paper the bracelet was wrapped in, he managed to get it out of the box without unpacking it. He looked at the leftover contents that were laying in the bottom of the container. There was a photo of a teenaged Orihime standing next to a girl of the same age with short black hair. This was Arisawa. His girlfriend occasionally talked about her. The last thing he pulled out looked like a letter, which he put to the side.

It was now or never, he thought, as he opened another journal. This one wasn’t as old as the first notebook he opened. He smiled at some of the entries. Other times he scowled. This entry however, was different.

_ It’s been what, now, six, seven years since I was a prisoner in Las Noches? Why is it all I dream about these days? I mean, it’s not like I ever forgot it, but recently it is just, like, all I think about whenever my eyes are closed. _

_ I hope that doesn’t mean I’m a bad mom. I adore Kazui. He’s cute as a button and I cannot get enough of him, but I wish he would let me get some sleep. Well, the dreams aren’t all bad. I mean, some of them aren’t even memories. Some are just fantasy… Sorry Ichigo. I love you, but I can’t control my dirty dream mind. He was really upset the other night when I woke up wet and calling out the name of someone else. It’s the hormones. It’s the breastfeeding and the lack of sleep. _

Had he had that much of an impact on her life that she would call out his name instead of Ichigo’s? Why? He had done some terrible things to her. He didn’t understand why she would think about him when he was dead.

_ That was  _ _ quite _ _ the dream though. He did tie me down, but instead of forcing me to eat, Ulquiorra stared at me with those big beautiful green eyes while his hand went up my legs and touched me. Holy moly, I’m shivering just thinking about it now. I was totally into it in the dream, too. I wanted him to grab my breasts and suck on them and spread my legs open as far as they could go. I wanted him to fill me up and then do it again. Damn, that was a hot dream. Too bad reality wasn’t quite like that in Hueco Mundo, haha. Just kidding, that would have been traumatic at the time, but it’s hot to imagine now.  _

This entry had him doing all of that. He smiled. He scowled. He had to adjust himself because of her words. Orihime was right. He would never hurt her. He had defied Aizen and had not killed her. However, he still felt guilt for letting those two bitches harm her. 

_ I guess things were not all bad with Ulquiorra. When he wasn’t giving me a hard time, he was actually a calm, reassuring presence. I liked it when he used to hang out and rest in my room. I always stared at him. He was such a beautiful-looking being.  _

_ Anyway, I think Ichigo wouldn’t have been as hurt if my other dreams weren’t so bad. I mean the dreams of him turning into that hollow monster. The ones where I call out for Ulquiorra to protect me instead of him. I know it breaks Ichigo’s heart. I’m sorry about that, but he nearly killed me. He nearly killed Ishida. He did kill Ulquiorra, and I think if Ulquiorra hadn’t worried about me, he would have won. I think he was strong enough.  _

_ But Ulquiorra would never hurt me. I don’t care if it was because Aizen told him to do it, the fact was I felt safe when he was around. I was never afraid of him. I was terrified of Ichigo, though, and he knows it, and when I have those nightmares it tears him up. I’m going to try some herbal tea and hopefully that will help. _

Once he got through that journal, he grabbed the next one in the small stack, randomly flipping open a page.

_ We fought again. I don’t know why he’s so against having another baby. Why would he want Kazui to be an only child? It’s not like we’re too old. It’s not like I ignore him in favor of Kazui. If anything, I’m more amorous than he is. But every time I talk to him about it I feel like he puts me in a sexual time out. It’s frustrating. He doesn’t really even have a reason why he doesn’t want more kids. At least not one that he’s telling me. _

_ He says that I’m focused on this to fill in part of myself that I’ve been neglecting, probably. He says as soon as I start working, I will get over it. Maybe he’s right, but I still want another baby.  _

_ I do feel like I am missing something else though. I always feel like I’m forgetting something. _

Ulquiorra could only scoff as he read this page. Of course she was forgetting something, but it explained why she was so eager for him. Orihime had been neglected by Ichigo. It sounded like he told her time and again, “No”. 

He put that notebook down after he flipped through several more entries. He was right, Ichigo kept telling her no. Ulquiorra hoped the next journal was filled with happy words.

_ It’s been two months and still no decent job offers. We’re both stressed. We talk about our daily business and if we try to talk about us or anything fun it turns into an argument. It’s getting tiresome. _

_ He’s been spending a lot of time away from the house. I wonder if he’s found someone else.  _

_ No. He would never do that to us. Still, just thinking that he prefers to spend time hunting hollows and avoiding me hurts. I know your pride is hurting, Ichigo, but come on. I’m your wife. _

Orihime had said something about Ichigo losing his job. She had said it caused strain and strife. Huh, even after Ichigo wiped her memory, Orihime still wasn’t good enough for him. Ulquiorra sighed, putting the notebook down and picking up the last one. 

_ He fucking left us. He left us without saying goodbye. How fucking dare you, Ichigo! Poor Kazui… _

_ I miss you, you asshole. I’m so lonely without you. _

It was standard grievances. Ulquiorra kept reading but almost put it down before he saw words that made his eyebrows raise.

_ Wow. Kazui’s 4th grade teacher is hot. I had a sex dream about him last night. This is the first time I noticed a guy since Ichigo died. I am proud of myself. Maybe this means I am really healing. _

_ Anyway, this guy is Kaz’s best friend’s dad. He isn’t very warm or friendly, but he has this look in his eyes that makes me melt from the inside. I have never been one to think about the male form much, but Cifer-sensei has me curious about what he’s hiding under those clothes. _

_ I bet he’s big. _

_ I’m so turned on. _

_ I’m so pathetic about it, too. I don’t even care. I flirt with him every chance I get because apparently I am shameless around him. I had my hands all over his arms at the grocery store the other day. I can’t be sure, but maybe he was flirting with me, too? We exchanged numbers and he looked at me like he wanted to eat me, sometimes. I would totally let him, too. But other times, he acts like he wants to get the hell away. The first time he came into the shop he acted that way, too.  _

_ He’s worth a bit of a humiliation for the fantasy fodder, though. Mmmm-mm. Want. Now I’m embarrassing myself, haha. _

His face turned pink, and he felt it become hot. Ulquiorra remembered the incident in the grocery store. He had tried to flirt, but felt it was a pointless endeavor. Now he found out the truth. It wasn’t pointless. Orihime had returned his lustful feelings. Again, she was right. He wanted to indulge himself with her, savoring each piece he could get of her. On the other hand, he had wanted to get as far away as he could from her.

Another sigh left him. 

Ulquiorra sniffed and put the notebook down, looking at the clock. It was way past his bedtime, but he couldn’t sleep anyway. With nimble fingers, he grabbed and unfolded the sheet of paper.

_ Dear Ulquiorra, _

_ I am so confused. I am so sad. I can't stop thinking about you and how unfair everything was at the end. I mean, yes, I'm glad I'm back home. I'm glad I can see my friends again. But I'm sad that you're gone. _

_ Why do I feel this way? You wanted to tear my body open. You kidnapped me. You threatened to force feed me. You threatened the people I care about.  _

_ But, I guess, the truth is that I really never was afraid of you. I cared about you. Many mornings I wake up seeing the look on your face as I reached out to you. It makes me feel so lost, so empty. All I wanted was to touch you. In the end, I think that part of me did. _

_ You definitely touched me. I'll always carry you in my heart. _

_ Ah, I wish I could show you my world. What fun you could have had here! I wonder how old you would be here. Would you go to school with me? Would you be my neighbor? I wish I could watch you try the yummy food here. It's so much better than what you wanted me to eat in Las Noches! I wish I could teach you what it means to feel connected to someone. To care for someone. To be true friends with someone. Maybe even to love someone. _

_ I kept the bracelet that you gave to me. I wore it a few times, but then my friends couldn't feel my spiritual pressure and started to panic, so I put it next to my brother's shrine. I know I don't have a picture of you, but still, I pray for you and talk to you every night beside my brother. I hope you don't mind. I know that you can't hear me, but I hope that, somehow, my feelings will reach you, wherever you are. _

_ I wonder what you're doing now. Are you in Soul Society? Are you making a new life? Have you made friends? I hope that wherever you are, you are happy. _

_ Thank you, Ulquiorra. Thank you for saving me. Thank you for reaching out. Thank you for trusting me with your heart. I'll protect it always. _

_ Love, _

_ Orihime _

He choked up when he finished reading these words. Tears left his eyes, falling from the corners and running down his face. Ulquiorra wiped his face with the sleeve of his pajama shirt and read the letter over. His mind drifted back to the first journal entry he read. He had always been in her thoughts.

She had been thinking of him for a while, and then Ichigo erased him from her brain. It was sickening. What had been the point? All of this was idiotic. The man had been jealous and had taken Orihime from him. His lip curled into a nasty sneer as he thought about Kazui’s father. That asshole had taken away one of the things that had brought Orihime comfort. It was affecting her again. 

It made Ulquiorra want to kill the shinigami again for hurting her like this. Ichigo had done this to his wife for his own selfish purposes. Was he such a sad excuse for a husband and a lover that he didn’t want his wife to be fantasizing about an Arrancar?

Tch. He was ten times the lover and the man than Ichigo Kurosaki was and Ulquiorra was going to prove this to Orihime. He got up and put everything back in the tote before he returned to his bedroom, slipping back in beside his girlfriend. Ulquiorra drew her close to him, wrapping his arms around her before falling asleep.

He dreamt of red ceros, horns, and a woman screaming.


	29. Chapter 29

The next day, as promised, Orihime posted the advertisement for the position at Halcyon. It was now a matter of wait and see if anyone qualified would apply.

Also, as promised, she called Isshin. He recommended Orihime journal how she was feeling physically and mentally for the next several days, then send him the entries, but if she noticed anything specifically wrong to call him and he would have Ryuuken set her up with an obstetrician. She agreed, and things were fine, more or less.

The following Monday, an interview was scheduled for an applicant who seemed quite qualified. However, things were incredibly busy at the shop and she had gotten a call from a panicked Kazui on Eri’s phone that he had forgotten something he needed for school, so she had to run it over to him. 

When she returned to the shop, the place was in shambles.

“What did you do with the… Honestly, Satomi, how do we do this without Riruka? I thought she was pretty much useless around here, but with her gone and me pregnant… Ulquiorra is a big help, but he has a job already. Are you sure you can’t increase your hours?”

The part-timer sighed. “No, I can’t. I have classes and I have to help with my grandfather, I’m sorry. You’re right, though. We need somebody who is here most of the time. Do you know anyone good? So far the employment office applicants have been a bust.”

Orihime sighed, went to her office, and called Ulquiorra. He would be on his way home already.

“Hello Woman. Did you need help?” Ulquiorra asked. 

“Yes, in more ways than one. Hello, Sexy,” she purred back. 

A small purr left his throat and Ulquiorra had to hold back from growling into the phone. He liked it that she called him pet names like that. “Well perhaps I can turn the car around and come visit you, but I would have to deliver the children either to the house or Isshin. I can feel this isn’t a pleasure call, though. It’s business, isn’t it?”

“Well, it  _ can _ be both. But business before pleasure. Do you think I need to hire somebody full-time to take over for Riruka? I mean, I’m not going to be useless for a few more months. I just asked Satomi again, but she can’t work more hours. Everyone I’ve interviewed so far seemed completely useless, though.”

“It would make sense to hire someone, though,” he said. Ulquiorra couldn’t wait to get home and offload the children. He was willing to go back for alone time with Orihime. “I don’t want you working for at least six months after Three is born.”

“Six months!” Orihime was blindsided. “I mean, I wouldn’t want to go back full time but I need to be there from time to time before that, don’t you think?” She thought about it for a minute. “Actually, I don’t know if I want to go back full time until Three is in school… It’s something we need to talk about, though.”

He was frowning. She needed time to heal and nurture the child. “I think you need to think logically about this. From the books I’ve read, it says that you could develop conditions and such from pregnancy.”

She sighed. “Well, we’ll jump off that bridge if we come to it,” she said with a smile.

“Alright, Orihime. After I drop the children off at the house, I’ll be there, okay?” The suggestion of romantic things was implied.

“Hmm,” the amorous undertone in the hum was unmistakable. “I’ll be waiting.”

It would be about a half hour before Ulquiorra would get there, so she got back to work, losing herself in her tasks until the bell on the door rang.

“Excuse me? I’m here about the ad?” A short woman asked. She had short hair and extreme winged liner around her eyes with bright pink lips.

“Oh! Yes, come into my office, um…” Orihime trailed off, not remembering the appointment’s name.

“Ai Yamada.”

“Nice to meet you, Yamada-san. I’m Orihime Kurosaki, owner of Halcyon Cafe and gifts. Right this way.”

The interview was great. Orihime didn’t think she had the best personal connection with this woman, but she seemed supremely competent and had a lot of bakery experience. By the time it was over, she found herself asking, “When can you start? I’d like you to meet my partner before making the final decision, but I think you would be a very good fit, Yamada-San.”

“Uh probably tomorrow, if that’s okay?” the woman said.

Orihime grinned. “If you’d like to take a seat, Satomi can get you some coffee or tea, and Cifer-san should be here in about ten minutes.”

The woman nodded and looked around the shop instead of taking a seat or getting coffee. It was nice. Cozy… Disgusting really, in a cutesy way. Oh well; it was a job, and from the sounds of it, this was going to be an easy one. She was looking at the coffee for sale when she heard voices behind her.

“Woman,” Ulquiorra said as he came through the door.

“Hello my darling,” Orihime said softly, but loud enough to be overheard if one was listening. “I think I found someone. Would you like to meet her and put your seal of approval on it?” 

Ulquiorra stopped his movement and thought about this. What if this person was worse than Riruka? What if this woman didn't make things easier? Finally he nodded, “Did you get any bad vibes off of them? Did they seem like your former partner?”

“Well, no especially bad vibes. This certainly would not be a friendly relationship, I think, but she seems very competent and qualified. She seems professional to me. I’d like your opinion, though.” Orihime was already turning toward the new woman. “She’s just there. First impressions?” she whispered.

The green eyed man turned towards the woman that Orihime had indicated and stared at her for a moment. This potential employee seemed rather edgy, or at least her appearance screamed that. “I’m not sensing anything malicious,” he replied. “She looks decent.”

“Yamada-san,” the pregnant woman beckoned. “This is my partner, Ulquiorra Cifer. Ulquiorra, this is Ai Yamada.”

Ulquiorra watched as this Yamada person approached them. She smiled at both of them before giving a small bow. There was something about her he couldn’t put his finger on. “Hello,” he stated.

“Hello. I’m able to start tomorrow, if I am what you’re looking for. I can work as many hours as I can get my hands on too,” Ai said. She nodded at Orihime. “This place is really lovely.”

Orihime smiled at her brightly. “Thank you. I really love this place, so it’s important that I leave it in capable hands while I’m busy with our new baby,” she said, throwing an adoring glance in Ulquiorra’s direction.

The smile on Ai’s face grew wider. “Oh, that’s wonderful news! Congratulations.”

“Uh, if you’ll take a seat, I will be just a moment, Yamada-san.” Ulquiorra pulled Orihime into the kitchen, closing the door behind them. “Well? What do you think?”

“She is leagues better than anyone else I’ve interviewed. She worked in bakeries and patisseries and she has managed a cafe. It’s like she is perfect,” Orihime breathed, feeling like she was in the precipice of winning the employer lottery.

He went silent again as the thought about it. Something felt off, but he chalked it up to his concerns about Orihime. “Okay then, boss woman, you may hire her.”

Orihime stood on her toes and kissed him deeply before going out to tell Ai the good news.

***

Later that evening, when they were closing up the shop, Orihime happened to look up at the calendar. “Ulquiorra?”

“Yes?” he said as he was restocking the coffee display and dusting off the merchandise. “What?”

“A week from today is Eriko’s birthday. Did you have anything in mind for how to celebrate?”

He furrowed his brow and thought about it for a moment. “Usually I take her out for dinner and let her have a treat. That might not be a viable option this year with including you and Kaz in the celebration. What do you suggest?”

“Why don’t we have a party here like we did for Kazui? We can get her some presents and have cake and ice cream. Maybe you and I can have some “adult time” on the roof again, afterwards?” she said, waggling her eyebrows at him comically.

The man licked his lips as he remembered what happened on that rooftop the first time. He moved closer to Orihime and pressed the front of his body against the back of hers. “I would love to have some adult time with you. Maybe we could order a pizza for her dinner. We could have some wine… Well I can, you can’t.”

She swayed her hips against his slowly, letting her head loll back onto his shoulder. “I like the taste of wine on your lips better than I like to drink it, anyway,” she said in a husky voice.

“Careful, Woman or I might bend you over the counter like I bent you over my couch,” he murmured into her ear.

“Unfortunately, my new body shape makes bending me over such an object difficult. You’ll have to find another way,” she replied with a smirk.

“Thank god we left your bed upstairs,” he stated. Ulquiorra let his eyes rake up and down the redhead’s body. He could feel the desire coursing through him as he placed his arms around her waist, letting his hands settle on her pregnant stomach. “Has today been better on the exhaustion and getting sick?”

“Much. I feel like a million yen. My face is starting to fill out a bit, though,” she chuckled. “I should probably lay off the baked goods. Oh well, it’s to be expected I suppose. Three needs nutrients.”

Ulquiorra’s mouth pressed into a thin line. “Baked goods are not proper nutrients, especially cake. However,” he paused, “I do enjoy watching you fill out. It’s nice actually, watching the process this time.”

She turned her head to smile at him, the apples of her cheeks glowing. It was true. Her lips and cheeks were fuller. Her hair looked thicker and shinier. She had the legendary pregnancy glow now that she was well into her second trimester. “It’s fun, isn’t it? Just wait until my breasts start growing; then you are in for a treat,” she laughed a bit too hard at that.

“Breasts can grow?” He sounded dumbfounded and awestruck by this information. “Why am I in for a treat?” 

“They can and they will. Whether or not you find it a treat depends on your tastes, really. I assumed you’d like large breasts like a lot of men do.” She chuckled, putting a bowl into the fridge and removing her apron. “But it _really_ gets fun once my milk comes in.”

Ulquiorra let her go to lean against the counter and crossed his arms over his chest. He shook his head with a hint of a smile on his face. “I don’t have a preference as to body types. I only know that I love your body very much. I’m sure you know that.”

“I do, but I do enjoy it when you prove it to me. Shall we?” she asked leading the way toward the door.

He didn’t have to be told twice to follow her. In fact, Ulquiorra was right behind her as they crossed the cafe floor. “Are we doing business first ,or pleasure?”

“Pleasure is our business tonight,” she answered as soon as she got to the bottom of the stairs. She made sure that she was well past anyone’s line of sight from the shop front windows before she started pulling her t-shirt off from over her head, and she had managed to get her skirt halfway down her hips by the time she reached the landing.

Green eyes watched her carefully as he opened the door to the apartment. Ulquiorra scooped Orihime into his arms as he entered the apartment without bothering to remove his shoes. “Couch or bed?” he asked.

“Sir’s choice,” she answered, grinning widely as she walked her fingertips up the side of his arm to his neck before kissing the side of it, then whispering in his ear, “I want you to be comfortable; I plan on staying here awhile.”

With that answer he made his way to the bedroom door, like he had originally planned. After entering the room, and leaving the door open, Ulquiorra set his girlfriend on the top of the mattress before he unbuttoned the shirt he had on and removed it. “A while? What else do you have planned, milady?”

“Nothing. Just you and me. I’ve missed you. We haven’t had “grown up time’ in awhile,” she said, shimmying her skirt and panties the rest of the way down her legs before reaching behind her to take off her bra, her back arching off the bed to allow space for her hands and showing off her growing belly. Orihime had absolutely no shame about her body like this; she adored her growing child and was proud of the changes her body made to nurture it.

“Heh, are you trying to tempt me?” Ulquiorra didn’t care how Orihime looked as long as she felt good about herself. He loved her with his entire being. She was the reason he had a heart. “It’s hard to have grown up time when we have two children who ask a lot of questions about what we are doing.”

“Exactly. That’s one reason why I wanted to hold onto this place, at least until they get bored of us,” she laughed. “This is where we can hold our sexcapades, and after Three is born, it will be a good place to keep him -or her- for naps when I’m working.”

Ulquiorra was in the process of removing his pants when he heard Orihime refer to the fetus as her. His head came up and he peered at the woman. “You think that Three might be a girl now?”

She smiled at him and shook her head a bit. “I have no idea. I just think the word Three sounds kind of feminine. Plus I already had a boy, so it’s kind of fun to imagine that Three’s a girl. But I would be overjoyed if Three was a boy as well. Do you have any ideas?”

“I would like a girl, but I just want the child to be healthy and normal with black hair and brown eyes,” Ulquiorra said as he climbed onto the bed naked.

“What, you have a problem with redheads?” she asked with mock offense, then giggled as she rolled on her side to face him and plant a kiss on his lips. “We should probably start thinking about names, though.”

His lips found the side of her neck and he started kissing the area there without a care in the world. “Mmmm,” he hummed. “No clue. What are some of the ideas that you had if Three is a girl?”

“Hmm, well,” she paused to kiss his collar bone, “Depends. Which last name would we give her or him? There are too many variables. We could pick some unisex names. Ones that always sound good.” She paused to moan as he kissed a sensitive spot. “Were we talking? I don’t remember,” she murmured as her hands roamed his chest.

“I would like the child to have my last name,” Ulquiorra said before his mouth moved to her chest, nipping and kissing the flesh there. He smiled at her sounds. “I love you, Orihime.”

“Hmmm, I love you too, Ulquiorra,” she sighed as she pushed on his shoulders so that he was on his back. She sat up and mounted his legs, knees on either side of his thighs. She ran her hands from his pelvis to his neck and followed them with her lips, kissing a trail up his abdomen and over the black markings on his skin. “I love everything about you,” she whispered into his ear before taking the lobe in between her lips and mouthing on it.

He smiled at her and watched her. “Taking charge tonight I see. Well it’s a good thing I can just sit back and relax,” he said.

“For now. I expect a round two tonight,” she said, smiling as she worked her way back to an upright position. Her hands wrapped around his cock and started to slowly stroke it as she looked down into his eyes. “Thank you,” she said, smiling with a kind of dreamy, far-away smile.

“What have I done to deserve thanks?” he asked. Ulquiorra tried to keep his eyes on her but couldn’t as her hand slipped over the head of his cock. His eyes squeezed shut. “God, that feels good.”

“Good,” she said, biting down on her lip for a moment. “As for how you deserve my thanks,” she began to list items, stroking him slowly from base to tip as she said each entry, “For being an excellent father figure to my son, for buying out Riruka, for protecting me from unwanted male attention, for Three, for loving me,” she said the last thing and was satisfied with the state of his rigidity, then reached between her legs for lubrication and brought the wet fingers to the head of his cock, slowly massaging a circle with her wet thumb just around the ridge near at the base of his crown.

“Ooooh,” he breathed out, feeling her fingers along his skin. Damn she was good at this. She was better than good. He dug his teeth into his bottom lip. “I would do all that and more if I could, Woman. Let me make love to you.”

“As you wish,” she said, not waiting for him to take action, but moving her body to reach his and guiding him toward her entrance before she slowly sank down on him, sighing with pleasure as she did. “I love you. I love you inside of me,” she moaned as her sex met his belly.

The way her body molded to his cock had his eyes rolling back into his head. Orihime felt--there were no words to describe how she made him feel. She didn’t even give him a second to get used to the feeling before she was moving on top of him. Ulquiorra had to brace his feet on the bed to start thrusting into her body and catch her rhythm.

“Oh, Ulquiorra,” she moaned without reservation. It was so nice to just let loose and enjoy one another without worrying about being heard or interrupted. She had closed her eyes soon after he began to move, enjoying the sensation alone, but when she opened her eyes and saw the look of exertion mixed with enjoyment on his face, she lost her breath. One hand braced on his thigh behind her and the other grabbed a handful of her own tit as her body bowed backwards, huffing and puffing as she worked over him.

Seeing her grab herself made his excitement grow. Ulquiorra decided that he wanted to feel her body, too, as his hands traveled up her thighs and over the growing bump on her abdomen. Eventually he had his hand on the breast that she wasn’t groping, pulling gently on her nipple. This was good. Almost too good. Even if they came now, they had a while before they had to be back at the house. The kids could fend for themselves. He increased the pace as he helped her bounce on his lap.

Her voice left her in sharp gasps with each of his thrusts as she lost her rhythm and surrendered to his. She would not be long, now. Pregnancy made her more sensitive than ever, and what he was doing felt amazing. “Ah, Ulquiorra, I’m almost there,” she breathed.

Hearing her was even better as his eyes closed. He was surrendering to the waves of pleasure going through his nerves. He could feel the pressure building in his spine and legs as he continued to move his hips with her. “Don’t hold back, Woman. I want to hear you come on me,” he murmured.

If loud was what he wanted, loud he would receive. Her gasps turned into moans as her walls began to tighten on him, and then grew to squeals of pleasure, some just noises, others his name, as she fell apart. Her passage constricted around him tightly at her climax and she called out loudly with her mouth wide open in a long, ecstatic cry before falling onto his chest, whimpering and trying to catch her breath.

He was huffing too as he continued to move within her, slowly enjoying the aftershocks of his own orgasm. Each little tingle sent shivers through his body, but it soon became too much as overstimulation took over. That had been an intense ride to a blissful end. Ulquiorra rubbed her back, hands gently covering the surface. “Are you okay?” he asked after several quiet moments, kissing her head.

“Better than ever,” she said and huffed, still out of breath but grinning widely. “You?”

“Excellent. I love you, Woman. Thank you.”

She laughed, although it nearly sounded like a cough. “For what? I love you too, if it wasn’t already obvious.”

“Thank you for loving me? Giving me another child? Loving my daughter? For not hating me?” Ulquiorra listed off all the things he was grateful for as questions rather than statements. At that moment, he felt happiness that extended beyond his comprehension.

She propped herself up on her forearms and kissed him soundly. “I would do it a million times over. Well, not a million more children, but I would not refuse you one or two after this one,” she giggled and kissed the tip of his nose before burrowing into his body and nuzzling his cheek. 

Ulquiorra laughed along with her. “Maybe one more. We need to find a dwelling that will accommodate all of us first, before we decide on more offspring.”

She laughed again. “I don’t suppose you hung on to any of Eriko’s baby furniture, did you? I donated Kazui’s after I gave up on trying with Ichigo.”

He shook his head, recalling what he had read in her journals about Ichigo’s constant refusals of her requests for another child. “I’m afraid not. As soon as she was old enough for a regular bed, I got rid of everything. I kept only things that I thought were important to her childhood.”

“We’ll only need a few things at first. I don’t expect a shower for a second child, so we won’t get loaded with a bunch of things we don’t need. I really appreciate how minimalist our home is now; I’d like to keep it that way as much as possible,” she thought out loud.

“Good, because we don’t really need anything else in our home. I like your apartment though. It has a cozy vibe to it,” Ulquiorra said with a yawn.

“I agree. Let’s keep it for as long as it’s feasible. There are a lot of good memories here,” she said, a sly smile pulling on her lips. “Especially on the roof.”

Ulquiorra smiled. “However, the time on the roof did not give us Three, so I only rank the time on the roof as the number two greatest life-changing moment with you.”

Dear God, this man was a gift. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and squeezed, squishing the side of her face against his cheek and trying not to cry. “I can’t believe how in love with you I am, Ulquiorra. How lucky that we met again. I--” she ran out of words, which displeased her. She had so many feelings she didn't know how to express.

He wrapped his arms around her tighter but careful not to squish her tummy. He could feel the emotions coursing through him and he nodded. “I feel the same, Orihime. I know. C’mon let’s get some rest and then we can talk some more business. Okay?”

“Okay,” she said, letting her head fall onto his shoulder and closing her eyes.

***

Orihime woke up an hour and fifteen minutes later and yawned before peppering Ulquiorra’s neck with kisses. “Rise and shine, my pretty,” she murmured.

“Mmmm,” Ulquiorra hmphed as he tried to roll over. He was having lovely dreams and didn’t want to wake up just yet. He opened one eye and stared at the woman. “Why?” he mumbled.

“Well, you could just sleep through it if you want,” she said, kissing her way down to his chest and catching one of his nipples in her mouth for a few moments. “It’s up to you,” she murmured against his skin after releasing the now-firm skin as her hands wandered idly over his body.

“What did you have on your mind?” Ulquiorra asked, grabbing another pillow and placing it behind his head, so that he could see what she was doing. “I mean, I’d like to know if it’s worth staying awake for.”

“You can be the judge of that,” she said, pulling the sheets down his body and following its wake with her lips. “Here’s to grown up time,” she murmured as she began to stroke his length again, from testes to tip, placing light kisses on the side of it as she did.

He let out a choking sound as soon as Ulquiorra saw what she was doing. Holy shit. His eyes went wide and he had to swallow. No one had ever touched him like this before. Ever. He never allowed Yuko to do it, although that woman had offered when they were acquaintances. “Woman...” he drawled the word out as his cock twitched at the contact.

“Yes, my love?” she asked in a sweet, almost angelic voice, not stopping what she was doing.

“What are you doing?” he asked. A moan left him as her mouth brushed over the underside of the head. His hands grabbed the sheet under him, fingers curling into the fabric.

“It has many names. Do you know them?” she asked, letting her tongue snake out and bathe the underside of his cock from bottom to top.

Ulquiorra whimpered at the contact, his hips shifting on their own. “No? I mean I know--Kinda? This has never been done to me before,” he explained.

She paused her efforts and her dark eyes looked up to him from over the head of his cock, gleaming at him in anticipation. “Then you are in for a real treat. Feel free to do what feels right. Sit back and watch, participate, just don’t push too deep, promise?” she said, licking her lips before taking him into her mouth, keeping her eyes on him the whole time.

That she could still taste herself on him only stoked her enthusiasm, and she swirled her tongue around the crown of his cock like it was ice cream.

Groaning, Ulquiorra gripped the sheet tighter. His eyes closed and his teeth sank into his bottom lip as he tried not to cry out at what she was doing to him. This felt like heaven; like he’d died again and was in a pit of ecstasy instead of hell. She was just licking him, and it felt like he was going to come just from that.

“You okay?” she gasped as she came off of him for a moment and then closed her lips around him, moving her mouth up and down his cock a few inches, using her tongue on the underside and her right hand to take care of the remaining length.

“Hnngh,” he managed to get out. “I’m… going...” His hips flexed on their own and he gritted his teeth feeling her mouth enclosed around him. This woman was going to be the death of him with how she was sucking his dick. “Orihime.”

Her eyes smiled as she hummed her acknowledgement, but did not let up with her efforts. She wanted this man to feel like his world was shattered and remade. She wasn’t going to stop until she was satisfied that he did.

Feeling his muscles tense in a strange new way, Ulquiorra wasn’t sure if he was going to be able to stop the orgasm that threatened his nerves. “Woman, I’m going to come. Please,” he said, lifting his head and opening his eyes to look at her. That was all it took. Seeing her mouth wrapped around his cock and the look of enjoyment there… He moaned as his body rode the first wave of his climax.

She smiled as she licked the first load off the tip of his dick and then kept using her hand to milk him dry, ropes of pearly white cum splattering her cheeks, chest, and his belly as she smiled and chuckled a bit. She didn't mind the mess at all. To her it was part of the fun. There were towels in the bathroom. When his abdomen started spasming at her movements, she knew he was spent and she carefully used her palm to take as much of the mess off of him as she could with that final pass, then grinned at him, waiting for him to look and see what he had done.

His brain wasn’t functioning. It couldn’t be working properly after that. That was absolutely the quickest orgasm he had ever experienced in the seventeen years he had been a human. “Wow,” he mumbled.

“You’re telling me. This is the first time I’ve ever seen how much you come. No wonder I got knocked up so fast,” she laughed after she said it, small dimples on her cheeks popping out.

Ulquiorra looked at her with a confused expression. “Is this amount not normal? It’s always been that way.”

“Darling, I have only been with you and Kazui’s dad. It’s a small sample size. But I can tell you, this is more than sufficient,” she said, still smiling as she carefully got off of the bed. “I’m going to wash off and be right back with a wet towel for you. I love you,” she said as she turned to go out the door.

He didn’t have the energy to watch her leave the room so he just laid there and tried to remember how to do basic things like breathe, and move his legs. How did men deal with that activity on a regular basis? How did they become accustomed to such carnal delights? It was baffling to him. He sighed and placed a forearm over his eyes, trying to will his brain to order.

A couple minutes later Orihime returned and silently began to clean him up, using a warm cloth on his belly, legs, and sex before kissing his head and lying down next to him again, pulling the covers back up. “Are you alright? Did I break you? I brushed my teeth, by the way, so you don’t have to be weirded out by anything,” she said with a smile on her lips.

“Hmph, you think I’d be weirded out by that? I’ve read the puberty books too, you know. It’s a natural thing and it came out of my body so it’s probably healthy,” Ulquiorra said. He gave her a faint smile. “I’m alright, but I’ve never had that done, so I did not know what to expect. I was not disappointed, but I think I am utterly ruined for today. You’re going to have to drive my car back with me in the other seat because my brain… it’s gone on vacation.”

“Ha ha! Then I have you right where I want you,” she teased. “So for baby names, I was hoping you’d agree to Reginald or Francesca Romaine Lettuce Cifer. What do you think?”

One eyebrow rose dangerously high. “Ha, you think you’re hilarious, don’t you woman? Do we want Three to have a Spanish name or a Japanese name?”

“Hmmm, I wouldn’t mind a Spanish name, but I don’t want to make his life any more difficult than it needs to be. Maybe we could find one that works in Japanese like how the name Ken is both English and Japanese; maybe we could find a Spanish one that works like that.”

“What about the Japanese word for surprise?”

“Bikkuri? That sounds ridiculous, sorry,” she said with a chuckle. “Are there any particular names you like? It might be easier to go that route.”

Ulquiorra shook his head. “Is there somewhere we can purchase a baby name book?”

“Good idea,” she said, rolling onto her back and rubbing a hand over her belly. “What’s your name, little one? Maybe you’ll just tell us,” she said with a soft voice.

He watched her for a moment, lifting his arm off of his face. “I didn’t get to name Eriko. Yuko did that all on her own. I know nothing about naming children.”

Orihime smiled at him warmly. “I’m sorry you missed this for Eriko, but I’m glad things worked out the way they did. I’ve never been happier.” She took his hand and put it over her belly. “They can hear us, you know. I’m not sure if it’s quite yet, but at least soon, Three will start to recognize our voices.”

Nodding, Ulquiorra smiled at her. “That’s what the baby book says. Soon a lot of major things will be happening with Three.”

Orihime started to gather some clothes but paused to confirm, “So it’s decided, right? We can do Eriko’s birthday downstairs again and then we can all sleepover here?” Before he could answer, she turned her head toward Ulquiorra quickly and asked, “When is your birthday, by the way?”

“Uh, it has always been December first. I never celebrate it, though.” Ulquiorra turned his head to stare at his girlfriend. 

She smiled. “We don’t have to have a party for you, but I’m sure the kids will want to acknowledge your birthday. I will too, if only in private,” she smiled at him and then turned around and stretched. “Do you think we should get going soon, or do you want to give it another go?”

“I’m good right now, Woman. Maybe in the morning I’ll get the feeling in my legs back.”

“Alright, old man. Get dressed. I still need a shower and a soak in the tub or something tonight. This pregnancy thing is a real hormonal nightmare,” she giggled as she walked around the end of the bed for the rest of her clothes.

He huffed but got off the bed and found his clothes. It didn’t take him long to right himself to where he looked like a respectable person again. “Maybe I could join you in the bath?” he teased, giving Orihime a kiss.

“I will hold you to it.”


	30. Chapter 30

“No, you can go home with the kids, Ai and I have it covered!” Orihime said into the receiver with a satisfied lilt.

“Or you could come in and tell her to put her feet up, I know she’s like a go-go-goer, but you are pregnant, Orihime,” Satomi remarked as she walked behind the redhead, her voice coming through the phone loud and clear.

A sigh left Ulquiorra. “Orihime, you need to rest. You need to take care of yourself. I understand there are things that need to be done at the cafe, but your health is more important.”

She knew he was right, but it was hard for her to give up control of everything she had worked so hard for. “Okay, fine. I’ll go home with the kids after you get here.”

Hearing the defeat in her voice was difficult for him to deal with. Ulquiorra knew that Orihime wanted to do things for herself, but she had been having a troublesome pregnancy from what he learned from Isshin. Orihime’s pregnancy with Kazui had been a breeze compared to Three’s. “I will be there in a bit. Please sit down and dictate matters from a cafe table. Maybe we can put an armchair in a corner so you can sit comfortably.” 

She laughed at that idea. “People will come in and ask what is wrong with the fat lady in the chair. I promise to sit down. I still say you and Isshin are being worrywarts, but you’re right, Three’s health is more important than my own ego.”

“Thank you,” he said. “How is Yamada working out? Is she a suitable replacement for Riruka?”

“Above and beyond suitable. You can find out for yourself tonight, if you’re up to it. Satomi was hoping to cut out early.”

Ulquiorra thought about it for a moment. There wasn’t really anything keeping him at the school after hours. “Fine, fine. I’ll walk over with the kids. I’ll see you in a bit.”

Orihime dutifully took a seat and watched silently as her staff took over operations. They really rarely needed her input. It made her feel conflicted. On one hand, it was gratifying that her shop was so well organized and her staff so well trained that they could handle things so seamlessly. On the other hand, there was a burning sensation in her throat at the idea that she was unnecessary.

“Kurosaki-san, we need more of the sugar cookies,” Ai said, coming up to the woman. She set a cup of tea in front of her boss along with a napkin. “Are there any baked?”

“Oh no, there should be…” Orihime’s face fell. It was her fault. She had said she would handle the inventory in the cases that day. “There is prepared dough in the cooler, if you can cut and bake some, but we’ll have to put a sold out sign until they are cooled. I’m so sorry.”

Ai shook her head. “Don’t be. I’ll do that right now. Is there anything else you need? When is Satomi leaving for the day?”

“She’ll leave after Cifer-san arrives. Are you going to be okay with just you and him? He’s asked me to go home.” Orihime knew Ulquiorra could handle the shop; he had proven himself indispensable. His mannerisms sometimes scared people, though, and she didn't want Ai to feel uncomfortable.

“I’m fine with Cifer-san being around. He doesn’t say much and does the work. You deserve a break,” the woman said before nodding at Orihime and walking away. She found the dough where Orihime said it was and was cutting cookies to lay out on a baking tray when Ai heard the man’s voice.

“Woman, you need to relax. Go home and have a soak in the tub. Take a nap on the couch.”

“Yes, sir,” she said, only a hint of exasperation in her voice as she stood and approached her man. “I’m going to miss you tonight,” she murmured when she was close enough for just him to hear.

Ulquiorra didn’t pay attention to anyone but his girlfriend as he wrapped his arms around her. “Take our spawnlings home. I’ll be there as fast as I can after things are done here,” he said to her. “Have Eriko and Kazui make you dinner.”

She nodded, then quickly looked left and right before rising up and stealing a kiss. “I will, I promise. Let me know if you need a lift back; I don’t mind driving back to get you if you miss the train; I don’t want you stranded here waiting forever for the next one.”

His voice lowered until he was barely whispering. “You forget that I can use a certain move that will get me to your side instantly,” Ulquiorra replied. “I will not have you disturbing your rest to come get me, as sweet as the gesture may be.”

The hair on the back of her neck raised at his tone and sentiment. “Damn,” she breathed, her eyelids lowering as a wave of desire washed through her.

Ulquiorra looked around, noticing Ai was watching them. He let out a breath before he dragged Orihime behind the display of plants. “You can always go upstairs and wait for me,” he said, burying his face into the redhead’s neck and kissing the skin there. He softly growled when he reached her ear. “We could celebrate Eriko’s birthday early.”

A whine pushed past her throat as she looked to the ceiling, damning the fact that Eriko and Kazui were waiting outside. “I would do it in a heartbeat, but I think you forgot the kids.”

As if on cue, two young faces appeared in the side window of the shop and began to bang on the glass. Although mostly concealed from view, the kids knew the shop well enough to know where their parents disappeared to from time to time. Ulquiorra and Orihime’s legs were visible to them from their vantage point.

“Ugh,” he groaned before turning his head to stare at the kids. His mouth formed a thin line and he glared at the two. “Then we shall have to wait.”

“You are worth it.” Orihime smiled at him affectionately, then took a deep, bracing breath and took a step back. “Call me if you need anything. Information, moral support, dirty talk. Anything.”

“Are you trying to seduce me, Kurosaki-san?” Ulquiorra said this with a smirk on his face. He picked up her hand and kissed her knuckles. “Take my car and the heathens and go home.”

She nodded and said, “I love you,” before turning to leave.

“Cifer-san?” Another woman’s voice came a moment later.

Ulquiorra turned around after Orihime went out the door to find himself looking at Satomi. She was nice looking, but rather plain. “Yes, Satomi? Will you be leaving now?”

“If it’s alright with you, Cifer-san,” she replied, adjusting her glasses.

The green-eyed man nodded. “Have a good evening, Satomi. See you soon,” Ulquiorra said before he went to check on the plants. Everything looked like it was in order. He went into the kitchen where Ai was. The new employee was laying out another tray of sugar cookies. “Hello Yamada, do you need help with anything?”

Ai shook her head. “Not anything you could help with at the moment, but thank you Cifer-san.”

“Very well then, I’ll be doing inventory.”

That’s how it mostly went when he was stuck in the cafe. The new worker would make these vague statements, almost as if she were flirting, and Ulquiorra would dismiss them because he didn’t understand what she was saying, exactly. When it was time to close the cafe, Ai put her hand on his arm before she left. _Hmph._ Maybe he needed to have a discussion with everyone about boundaries. Satomi never acted this way towards him.

It was late and Ulquiorra didn’t feel like using the train to go home, so he walked as far as the train station before using Sonido to travel close to his home. He walked the rest of the way. As soon as the house came into view, he breathed a sigh of relief.

Orihime was surprised to see him walk up the driveway so early. She had been waiting in a chair outside, enjoying the late summer evening. “Hey, how did it go?” she called out softly as she pushed herself out of the chair.

“Sit,” he commanded as he moved toward her. “It went fine. Ai is a hard worker, but something about her bothers me. I can’t put my finger on it.”

Orihime’s brow wrinkled as she searched her memory for what it might be, but came up empty. “Like what?” she finally asked.

He shrugged. “I’m not quite sure. It’s like Urahara; you know he’s shifty, but don’t know what he could be shady about. Ai’s like that. She has the potential to be like a snake. It’s probably the amount of eyeliner she wears.”

Orihime nodded. She knew what he meant. “Yeah, I definitely don’t feel safe to confide in her. Like, I would feel safe asking Satomi to watch the kids, but not Ai. And the eyeliner is not flattering.” A breeze blew through the overhang and Orihime shivered, but it wasn’t just from the cold.

“Did you have a chance to rest?” Ulquiorra asked. “Did the children fix you food?”

She chuckled. “Yeah, the kids made cold udon and a salad. Do you want some?”

Ulquiorra nodded. He hadn’t eaten since lunch. He didn’t really like the sweets or the foodstuffs that Orihime served to her customers. “Is there any left?”

“Yeah, they made a lot, let’s go inside,” she smiled, lifting a hand to him for assistance.

Of course he helped her up and pulled her into the house with him.

***

That night, Orihime woke up with a start and out of breath. She reached around in the darkness until she felt Ulquiorra’s body and her own belly. She felt a kind of fear that she hadn’t felt in a very long time; the last time had been during the Quincy war. Bizarre, to have a nightmare about that now. She couldn’t remember the dream at all, but it took awhile for those terrifying feelings to dissipate. It was nearly dawn before she fell asleep.

When Orihime woke up, Ulquiorra’s eyes snapped open. He heard her but didn’t say anything. The next morning he was up first and went downstairs to make coffee. He didn’t know how to bring up the contents of those journals, or the letter, to the woman a week later. How could he ask about why she kept the bracelet without triggering an episode?

Eriko brought him out of his thoughts. “Where are we going for dinner on my birthday?”

Ulquiorra’s head came up and he looked at his child. She was standing there in some hot pink pajamas and rubbing sleepy eyes. “We’re going to be having pizza at the cafe, along with cake and ice cream,” he answered.

“Oh. Okay.”

“Why?”

“I was just wondering. I thought maybe we could try another cafe in Tokyo.”

He sighed. That wouldn’t be feasible. “Eriko, you’re not getting out of going to school on your birthday. Two, taking all four of us to Tokyo and dealing with crowds and such… It’s not something I want to do. If you wanted to go to a themed cafe, they require reservations, sometimes months in advance. We’d be too late. I figured I’d get you one of those pizzas you talk about and we can have a party… Just like we did on Kazui’s birthday.”

The girl frowned. “No, I mean like a regular tea shop or something. Why does it have to be the four of us? Why can’t it just be me and you?”

“We are a family now. You can’t discard them just because it’s your birthday.” Ulquiorra gave Eriko a hard stare.

“I bet Yuko would take me to a cafe. She would let me do what I want for my birthday. She seemed like she wouldn’t hold me back from doing things.”

The pang that went through his chest as she turned around and stomped back upstairs hurt. Ulquiorra rubbed a hand over his tired face before sighing. More and more, Eriko would throw Yuko in his face, making it seem like sleeping with the woman was an insult. He didn’t know what to do. This was supposedly the arrancar or hollow side of her coming out.

The coffeemaker beeped at him and Ulquiorra poured two cups of coffee and took them upstairs.

Orihime did not stir as the bedroom door opened. She was still sound asleep; her body trying to catch up for the lost sleep during the night.

All Ulquiorra had to do was look at her, his worry growing. What if Orihime couldn’t carry Three because of their different spiritual pressures? He had read something about a woman’s body rejecting the fetus because of some type of incompatibility. This didn’t seem to be the case, though. Something else was at work. Something not he nor a medical team could fix.

He walked around and set the coffee cup on her bedside table before retracing his steps to his side of the bed where he sat down and took a sip. “Woman,” he said.

A muffled groan answered him as she rolled over toward his voice, flopping her arm over his lap before her eyes cracked open a bit. “What time is it?” she mumbled.

All he had to do was look at his phone. “Around eight,” he said. Ulquiorra brushed some hair off of her face. “I’m going to let you sleep, but I want to let you know I left a cup of coffee on your table.”

“Do you have to go soon? Shit, I have to go soon,” she said, blinking the sleep out of her eyes and scooting up to a seated position. “I had a nightmare last night, I think. I couldn’t sleep for awhile,” she admitted before reaching for her coffee.

“I know. I felt you move last night. Do you want to tell me what is keeping you awake?”

“I can’t remember after I wake up. I just remember feeling really scared. The last time I felt that scared was during the last war. Like the kind of fear… Like when you think there is a decent chance you won’t survive,” she said before taking a sip of the coffee.

The unhappy look on his face appeared again. Another sigh. Another mouthful of coffee. “That sounds concerning. Have you ever seen a doctor for your problem?”

“Do you mean like a therapist?” She chuckled and shook her head. “Ah, no. A therapist would think I was crazy.”

Of course. A normal doctor would think she was insane. He didn’t think the soul society would offer some kind of service like that. “Right. What about the nightmares?”

“I don’t usually have nightmares. I dunno why I’m having them now, but it’s not unusual to have vivid, bizarre dreams during pregnancy. I had them with Kazui, but I don’t remember them being super scary; they were more sexual. Bizarre, sometimes mildly disturbing, but not terrifying sexual dreams.”

“I’m aware that you have sexual dreams. I read about some of them in those journals you let me read.”

Orihime froze. Had she really written about those? Dear lord. He must think her a deviant. “I… I’m sorry?” she whispered, her face starting to burn in shame.

“No. Do not be sorry. Some of them were,” he paused to choose his wording, “shocking, but they gave me insight into what you were like after my death,” Ulquiorra sighed. “It also turned me on to read about them. Most of the ones you had included me, did you know that?”

Her eyes snapped to his. Surely he was kidding. She stared at him for a moment and realized he was not. “No,” she admitted. “How… I need to read them.”

Ulquiorra cleared his throat. “In that tote, there was also a letter, a picture of you and Arisawa… Why did you keep that bracelet?”

“A bracelet? Oh, you mean the one that Tsukishima--” she stopped. She knew; he had already told her that Tsukishima was not the one that gave her the piece of silver jewelry in the dangai. “You gave it to me, didn't you?”

A nod. “Yes, I had one on. I followed you around for a month. The only reason you didn’t detect me was because of it.”

“Wait a second, so you’re telling me we had matching jewelry?” She looked at the dresser, remembering the grief she felt when she finally took off her wedding ring after Ichigo died. She had kept it in a small box with the other jewelry he had given her over the years. Did she hold onto the bracelet from Ulquiorra for the same reason? To have a physical object to hold onto and feel a connection to him? She didn't know, and it broke her heart, but she couldn’t think of any other explanation. “I probably kept it so that I could remember you.”

“But you didn’t remember me. You still don’t remember me. I know you try, but you can’t remember me,” Ulquiorra said, staring at the liquid in his cup. A heavy feeling settled in his stomach.

A hand landed softly on his forearm. “I’m so sorry, Ulquiorra.”

Shaking his head, Ulquiorra said, “Don’t be. I’m only afraid that when you do remember, you’ll hate me.”

“Look at me, Ulquiorra,” she commanded, in a soft, firm voice.

He didn’t want to. Ulquiorra didn’t want her to see how vulnerable he felt at that moment. “What? It might happen. Everything I did will come rushing back and you’ll think I’m a monster.”

“Maybe you were a monster,” she said, her fingers pulling his chin toward her face and catching his eyes. He looked so small at that moment, and her heart wrenched. “Maybe you were Aizen’s right hand. I don’t care. That’s not who you are now. And honestly, I don’t believe that’s who you were then, either.”

It was on the tip of his tongue to refute this claim but he said nothing. How could she have such blind faith in him? Why did she have it? It took several long minutes for him to speak. “Perhaps.”

She exhaled heavily. He didn't believe her. She didn't know what she could do to convince him. She knew what she wanted to do now, though, so she sat up on her knees and kissed him, then gave him a tight hug with her arms around his neck. She was quiet, taking deep breaths and letting the scent of his hair fill her lungs and wash away the sadness that was settling upon her. “I will always love you, Ulquiorra. Have faith in me,” she finally whispered.

He hugged her back, wishing Kurosaki hadn’t messed with her memories just because he was a jealous asshole. “Do you want to read the journals, still?”

She nodded into his hair. “Yes. Maybe tonight after work. I want you to be here when I do.”

“We can read them in bed if you’re too tired to sit downstairs and read.”

“I think it’s better to read them away from the kids. I don’t want them to see me upset, and I am sure I will become upset. Not only that, but I remember what I wrote in that last journal,” she sighed and backed up so she could see his face, but didn't release his neck. Her face was bright red again. “Did you think I was a total slut or what?”

He shook his head as he stared at Orihime. “No, never. I found you to be even more desirable. I wanted you more.”

Emotion swelled up from her guts to her eyes, which started to become glassy as she blinked away tears before they could form. “I am so, so grateful for you,” she breathed before kissing him, gently lapping at his mouth and lingering to breathe his breath. “I love you,” she murmured against his lips.

“I love you, Orihime.”

***

Orihime helped get her family off to school before getting herself ready for work. She was feeling better after her conversation with Ulquiorra, but she was still a little sluggish from lack of sleep. Once again, she was grateful to her staff for picking up the slack in the shop. Ai and old Endo-san had been there since early in the morning, baking and slinging coffees to customers on their way to work.

Speaking of Ai, Orihime was now watching her with a more critical eye, despite her gratitude, ever since Ulquiorra’s comment about the woman bearing a similarity to Urahara. She kept a closer eye than usual on the heavily-made-up woman, but was unable to find anything offensive in her work or behavior.

Still, she couldn’t shake the feeling that Ulquiorra might be onto something. She had security cameras in the shop, but she never, ever, watched the feeds. In fact, since moving in with Ulquiorra, she hadn’t even unpacked the computer that the security footage was uploaded to. Right now she had a cloud service that saved seventy-two hours worth of security video and then deleted it forever. Maybe this weekend she would set that computer up and take a look at the feeds.

In the meantime, Orihime decided to have a little chat with her newest employee. After the lunch rush, Orihime came over from the shop and found Ai in the kitchen, whipping up some cream for a mousse.

“So, Ai, how is it coming along for you here at Halcyon? Have you had any issues with the rest of the staff or Cifer-san?” she asked innocuously.

Ai shook her head before adding the measured amount of sugar to the mixture. “No, not at all. If anything, Cifer-san is overly polite and off-putting at times,” she replied giving the woman a small smile before going back to her task. “I am again grateful for this opportunity to work.”

“I’m glad to hear it. Cifer-san is, um, foreign-born, so his customs are sometimes a bit jarring to new people. He means well, though,” Orihime said with a smile. 

“Yeah, he looks foreign. Eriko doesn’t look foreign though. She’s a cute kid.”

“Absolutely adorable,” Orihime agreed. “Such a sweetheart, too.” Orihime watched for the woman’s reaction with kind eyes.

Ai nodded. She had really expected the kid to have a nasty temperament, considering who her mother was. “Except when she argues with her dad or Kazui. He’s a chill dude. Just goes with whatever.” 

Orihime laughed at that. “He didn't use to be. After his father died, he went through a rebellious phase. Since Cifer-san came into our lives he’s had a real turn-around, though,” she said, letting her guard down. She realized too late that she was being overly familiar, given hers and Ulquiorra’s lack of trust in the woman. No matter though, it’s not that it was secret information; just a bit too personal. 

The employee nodded again. “I can see Cifer-san whipping people into shape. He seems… Militaristic. I can’t imagine a relationship with him would be easy.”

Orihime’s brows knit and lowered as she shook her head at her employee. “He is not very demonstrative except to those closest to him, but he isn’t hawkish or anything like that. He’s a wonderful father and partner,” she said, sounding a bit defensive.

“I didn’t mean that in a bad way. He seems disciplined, I guess. It would be the better word for how he carries himself. My apologies, Kurosaki-san. If you’ll excuse me, I have to finish this dessert.”

Orihime did not like this at all. Was she being dismissed? Was this woman thinking she called the shots? And what was with the way she said ‘Kurosaki-san’ as if to emphasize that her name was different from Ulquiorra’s? “Actually, Ai, I will finish that up. You can go take care of the front-of-house for awhile.”

Ai nodded and wiped her hands on a towel before she left the kitchen. When Orihime was behind her, a smile spread over her face. Yuko said it would be easy to put cracks in the foundation of their relationship. All she had to do was make Orihime doubt things. She had to flirt with the man. She could swindle them while she was at it.

As soon as the worker had left the kitchen, Orihime pulled out her phone and texted Ulquiorra.

\- _You’re right. That Ai is not trustworthy, I think. She just tried to tell me what to do! And acted like it was all just a matter of course. If we didn't need someone like her so badly I would have put her on notice._

Ulquiorra smiled as he got his girlfriend’s text. He had a free period while the students were in P.E.. He had told her that there was something about Yamada that he didn’t like.

  * _What did she say to you? It might be an excuse to find someone else._



Orihime was still fuming as she tapped out a response.

_\- She talked about you a lot. Thought you were militaristic and said she thought it must be hard to have a relationship with you, and after I defended us she called me “Kurosaki-san” like it was some kind of dirty word! Then, THEN, she told ME to excuse HER so she could get back to a task, as if she called the shots around here!_

It really sounded like Orihime was overreacting to him, but he did not inform her of this. It wouldn’t do to make her upset.

  * _Woman. Think about this. I am somewhat militaristic; at least I was before you came into my life. Kurosaki-san is your name at the moment. In the future it will change. It could be that she was uncomfortable with the subject or her opinions of me and wanted to get back to work. I do this sometimes when I feel on the verge of offending my boss or coworkers._



Orihime got stuck on the fifth sentence for a moment. It would? Was he implying he thought they would get married? The last time they spoke of this he didn't even really want to talk about it. She shook her head. That was beside the point at the moment. She read the rest of his message again before responding.

_\- You may be right, but it was quite off-putting._

He nodded. The woman’s actions the other night were odd to him.

  * _I told you there was something about her that I was uncomfortable with. Besides Yamada, how has your day been?_



_\- Fine. I’m feeling good today, despite the lack of sleep. You?_

A frown crossed his face and his eyebrows drew together. The lack of sleep thing still concerned him.

  * _You must sleep more. You’re creating a human._



_\- Yes sir. I will not have any caffeine today. Promise. I love you._


	31. Chapter 31

“And remember, we’re closing early today, so make sure you have everything finished before six, alright?” Orihime reminded Ai, Satomi, and good old Endo-san after the breakfast rush had finished on Monday, which was also Eriko’s birthday.

“Is there a reason why we’re closing early? Some of us might need the hours,” Ai said. She looked kind of worried.

“No worries, I can pay you for the two hours you’ll miss. That goes for all three of you,” Orihime said with a smile. “We’re closing for Eriko’s birthday party. Our customers are accustomed to the shop closing for private events from time to time. Are there any other questions?” she asked sweetly. There was not a single sweet thought in her mind, though.

The woman who asked the question shook her head. There went her plans for cleaning out the cash register. Although it wasn’t a good idea, Monday was a busy day. “No; thank you for clearing that up for me.”

“Certainly. Let’s have a good afternoon. I’ll be in the office dealing with the books for a few hours but if you need anything, please feel free to knock,” Orihime replied, dismissing them. She went into the office and wiggled the mouse on the computer, and after entering her password, she brought up her bookkeeping program. She was glad that the sales representative at the electronics store had talked her into buying a wide monitor, though, because she was able to enter data and at the same time, in another window on her monitor, she was reviewing the security camera footage for the times she was not there. 

Since her nightmares had begun the following week, Ulquiorra had been quite insistent that he take over for Orihime and sent her home with the children early every night. She had been able to keep an eye on Ai while she was working, more or less, but when she wasn’t, she wanted to be sure nothing unusual was going on. She knew that Ulquiorra was capable of running the business, but he was not as experienced as she was, and he sometimes had to focus on one task while allowing the staff to work on their own tasks unsupervised. That would have been fine if the staff were all trustworthy.

Unfortunately, Orihime still had strong doubts about Ai Yamada.

After about an hour of entering income and expenses, she saw something on the feed that gave her confirmation that her misgivings were warranted. She stared at the black and white footage as she watched her employee run her hands over her partner’s shoulders as she passed him behind the bakery counter. It almost looked like the woman was just being careful, letting him know she was there so he would not back up into her, but it was just so out of place. She rewound and rewatched it four times. There was no mistaking it. There were no customers around at the time. She could have just said “excuse me”. No. She was feeling him up. That was not the only instance of inappropriate contact, either.

The worst part was, he didn't seem to mind at all.

By the time it was time to close the shop, Orihime was seething. She refrained from bringing up Ai’s behavior to the woman herself, though, wanting to talk to Ulquiorra about it first.

He walked into the shop, followed by the two children who were giggling about something. Ulquiorra paid them no mind as he navigated his way through the cafe to put his bag behind the counter. He then found his girlfriend. “Hello, Orihime,” he said, kissing her cheek.

“Hi,” she said, tight and uncomfortable. “I need to talk to you in the office.”

“Is something wrong?” He asked as he followed the redhead.

“Yes,” she said, waiting by the door and closing it after him. “Have a seat.”

A feeling of resentment flashed through him and he shook his head to clear it from his thoughts. Orihime sounded like she was going to scold him. She sounded like him when he was reprimanding a child. “Okay,” he said before taking a seat. “What is it?”

Orihime had compiled the few offensive clips that she had seen and put them together. The entire thing ran about forty-five seconds. She clicked on her mouse a few times, causing the black screen to come out of its slumber, then clicked a blue play button. “Watch,” is all she said.

Ulquiorra watched every frame, seeing Ai touch him in some way. A hand on his shoulder or arm; coming unnecessarily close to him; leaning close to ask him a question. It all ended with Yamada’s hands on his shoulders. “What is this?” he inquired as the video ended. 

“That is what I’d like to know,” came the careful answer.

“Are you implying that I’m acting inappropriately towards Yamada?”

“I’m not implying anything. I see what you see and I do not understand what is going on. I do not like what is going on. I do not like that you did not mention what was going on.” Orihime’s voice began to tremble slightly as she said the last bit.

Ulquiorra stood up and walked over to Orihime. He hadn’t said anything because he didn’t want to cause her stress with this information, especially since Ai was a hard worker. He tilted her face up to him. “Woman, I usually give her a hard stare and it usually doesn’t happen again immediately. I did not tell you about it because I can take care of it. I have no interest in your employees.”

“Our employee,” she corrected in a small voice. “You could have fired her. You have the authority.” She sighed. That was the least of it. “You don’t understand, do you?”

“We need someone like her to help you. I do not want to go through firing her and finding someone else. What if the next person is worse?” Ulquiorra sighed. “She’s more your employee than mine, because you spend more time with her than I do.”

Orihime’s heart was threatening to pound through her chest. Her eyes pinched and she looked to the side, removing her chin from his hand. “You have no idea what seeing that does to me.”

He sighed again and drew her closer to him. “Orihime, I love you. You’re right, I have no clue what you’re experiencing by seeing that. All I can tell you is that I distance myself from Ai and have no interest in her. You are the only woman who occupies my mind.”

Orihime’s breath hitched as her shoulders relaxed somewhat. “I may be a very flawed person, but I can’t help feeling jealous. It makes me want to slap her. It makes me want to march out there and call her out in front of everyone. I know I can’t do that, but I don’t want anyone close to you like I am,” she admitted, her breath harsh and chin wobbling.

Tipping her chin up again, Ulquiorra kissed her several times. “Woman, listen to me, please. I love you. I would never look at another woman. You have had my heart since the first day I met you. I would do nothing to jeopardize the bond I have with you. The next time Yamada does something like this and makes you uncomfortable, I will dismiss her, consequences be damned.”

She nodded as a couple of tears slipped past her lashes and she pressed her face into his chest, wrapping her arms around his waist. Her throat was much too tight to say anything.

“Come on,” he murmured to her. “We have plans this evening. Eriko’s party and another love making session on the roof. The pizza should be here soon. We can talk about this when it’s not so fresh.”

She nodded again but didn't let go for a full minute. She needed her body to calm down and having his arms around her made her feel safe. After she was able to breathe freely, she released him. “I still have to write a message on the gift tag, so you go out first and I’ll be there in a minute. Please make sure Satomi and Yamada are gone.”

When Ulquiorra went back into the cafe, Ai was standing at the counter, near the register. She was counting money and writing it down. “You need to leave, Yamada,” Ulquiorra stated in a cold voice. “We have a private party that will begin soon.”

“Oh, I’m sorry, Cifer-san. I was just--” Ai reached out to put her hand on his arm.

Of course Ulquiorra evaded the contact, moving quickly. “You need to leave now. I do not care what you were doing. We will see you tomorrow, unless you’d like to quit.”

“Are you threatening me, Cifer?”

His eyebrows shot up and he glared at the woman. “No, but I can contact the agency that referred you to us and terminate your employment. Do as I say and go.” Ulquiorra was becoming fed up with this woman and it started making his spiritual pressure rise despite the fail safes on his gigai.

“Fine,” she said and grabbed her purse, stuffing whatever was on the counter into the bag. Ai smirked at him before leaving. “Have a good night.”

A breath left him and Ulquiorra waited until the door shut before he went over to the register. Orihime would need to look over things and make sure that bitch hadn’t done anything like steal from them. “Orihime?”

“Yes?” she asked as she appeared in the doorway to the office.

“Can you check the register real quick? I saw Yamada counting some bills. I want to make sure our numbers match.”

Orihime’s brow knotted as she approached the machine. She pressed a series of buttons and a series of numbers printed off the receipt tape dispenser. The woman scanned the paper and then looked in the drawer. “Why wasn’t this drawer cleaned out?” she muttered to herself. She took the the long slip of paper and the register drawer back to the office, saying, “I’ll be back in a couple minutes.”

If that woman ruined his daughter’s birthday, there would be hell to pay. Ulquiorra really hoped that Ai was just being stupid and trying to rile him up. He had to calm down. He walked over to the door of the apartment and called up the stairs to the kids to come down. After he did that there was a knock on the cafe door. Ulquiorra paid the delivery driver for the pizza and then went to fetch plates and napkins when he put the box down.

“Yum!” Eriko said with a smile on her face. “Pizza!”

“Did somebody say pizza?” Orihime’s voice sang through the shop as she walked out of the office with a smile on her face and a gift bag in hand. Her eyes found Ulquiorra’s and she nodded to him once and gave him a thumbs-up. All the cash had been accounted for.

He smiled at the woman and then turned to his daughter who was also smiling. “Yes, pizza. The kind your Grandpa Isshin feeds you. However, there is no soda, because we have cake and ice cream to eat afterwards.”

Kazui was already seated and drooling, wiping the corner of his mouth with the heel of his hand. “Can we start, or do we have to listen to a speech?” Isshin typically made long orations about the person of honor or told a story about the history of the meal about to be consumed before he gave the cue to eat. The boy was internally praying that his mother’s boyfriend would not feel the need to engage in such practices.

“A small speech,” Ulquiorra said, turning to his child. “Eriko, I did not plan for your existence, but I am glad that you came along. I’ve spent each of these twelve years protecting you and I hope to continue that job even as you grow older. Happy birthday, my little princess.”

Eriko felt her cheeks get hot as her father spoke, but it was more out of love than embarrassment. She didn’t mean what she said to him this morning. “Thank you, Dad.”

Orihime’s heart swelled and she put her hand over Kazui’s, giving it a squeeze and smiling at him until she caught his eyes. She felt blessed to share in Ulquiorra and Eriko’s moment.

Kazui just felt hungry.

He was going to be disappointed for another minute or so, though, as Orihime stood. “I would like to say that Kazui and I have been grateful for every day that we have known you, Eriko. You have changed our lives for the better in ways we never even imagined were possible. We love you, and we hope that this is the first of many birthdays we get to share with you.” Orihime ended the speech with a smile to her father before sitting down.

Now she felt embarrassed. She thanked both Orihime and Kazui for the kind thoughts. “Do we want to eat first and then do gifts?” Eriko asked as she sat down beside Kazui.

“I think we should. Kazui looks as if he’s about to devour the box,” Ulquiorra replied.

“Please?” The boy whimpered to his best friend.

So they did. After Kazui had finished off the last slice, he reached down to the floor and handed a brightly wrapped package to Eriko. “Here you go,” he said inelegantly.

The girl rolled her eyes and took the gift. Before she had to spend almost every waking hour around Kazui, she would have blushed and giggled, but now that she knew the boy rather well, she was over her crush on him. “Thanks Kaz. What is it? A manga that you want to read?”

The boy scoffed. “No, but that would have been a good idea,” he muttered.

Ulquiorra had to give his spawnling a look to remind her to be kind. She nodded and then ripped off the paper. Inside was a box, which she opened. All of this seemed super fancy for the ginger-haired boy. Inside was a bracelet made from different shades of blue beads. They had to be made of glass with the way they sparkled from the lighting in the cafe. It even had a silver beads with the letters of her name etched in the front.    
  


Eriko had to put a hand against her stomach to try and stop the butterflies she was feeling, but she couldn’t help but blush. “Thank you Kazui. This is a sweet gesture and I like it. I will wear it every day.”

The boy smiled. “I’m glad you do. Grandpa helped me buy it. He says happy birthday too.”

Again, her face got hotter. “Thank you.”

Ulquiorra looked at Orihime and smiled at their children’s exchange. It was sometimes sweet to see how they interacted. “Eriko, this is my gift to you,” he said, placing a gift bag on the table.

She raised an eyebrow and then opened the bag to see two video games sitting inside. One was a game that he said was too mature for her for a couple years ago. The other had been released two years ago. “Wow! You said I couldn’t play Rachet and Clank!”

“Well, you’ll be a teenager soon, and you’re already sassy,” Ulquiorra teased. “I didn’t see the harm in it.” 

Eriko jumped up and hugged her dad by flinging her arms around his neck. She was surprised when he hugged her back just as tightly. “Thank you!”

Orihime’s cheeks were warm wit h affection, but now she was a bit nervous. She set a gift bag in front of where Eriko had been sitting and waited quietly until she and Ulquiorra had finished their moment. When the girl returned to her seat, Orihime said to her, “It’s not much, Eriko, but I hope you’ll enjoy it. I did when I was a little older than you are now.”

When the girl saw the mangas she had a chuckle. Then she saw the card explaining that Orihime intended to take her bra shopping. Eriko’s eyes scanned the characters written on the cardstock. So the woman had noticed. The girl had been trying to hide her chest whenever she could, but sometimes it was impossible. “Thank you Orihime, this is the best present ever.”

Orihime chuckled. “You say that now, you might want to wait until you, uh,  _ read _ it,” she said with a knowing squint to her smile.

“Well, still, thank you. May Kazui and I go upstairs and play the games now? Do we need to help you clean up? I mean, it is my  birthday.”

Ulquiorra couldn’t help shaking his head. “This is what I mean by the sass. Yes, you may go play the games. It’s one of the reasons why Kazui’s console was left here. Have fun and we will call you back down for cake and ice cream in a bit!”

The boy was halfway across the store already. “Last one up is a rotten egg!”

“I can cheat!” Eriko yelled after him.

When the children were gone, Ulquiorra looked at his woman. “I know you cannot have wine but I did buy a bottle of sparkling juice. Whatever that is,” he said.

“Well, I do have a little bottle of wine, and I distinctly recall telling you that I wanted to taste it on your lips, so I think it’s a two-bottle night, Mister,” Orihime said with a sly grin. “What say we drink and clean?”

“I think we tried that the last party we had for a child. I do remember certain things that happened that night,” Ulquiorra replied. He stood up and pulled the redhead to her feet, making sure he had a hand on each side of her hips. “Do you remember? Those texts? The way I touched you the first time? I know I was just helping you down, but I couldn’t resist.”

Orihime’s entire body shivered. “I still think about that moment all the time,” she said in a breathy voice. “Now that I’m not some mystery to you anymore, what do you think? Still the same spark?” she asked, trailing a finger from the center button of his shirt up to the hollow of his throat, slowly.

“Spark?” Ulquiorra shook his head. “That flame has ignited and we keep feeding it. It’s a raging fire now. Still, it’s heaven and hell to me. Heaven because I can touch you and kiss you whenever I want. Hell because I have to leave you at times. I love you, Orihime. I want that to be as clear as possible.”

The finger she teased his throat with found his cheek, and traced the invisible line his estigma once traveled, although she did not know that. It just felt right. When she got near his eye, she stopped, and said, “I love you, Ulquiorra. I see how you love me. I see it and sometimes I have a hard time believing it, but it’s just like we were always meant for each other.”

He gave her a lopsided grin. “You were the first woman in centuries to capture my heart. You’ve always had it,” Ulquiorra said, but paused. He kissed her, desire racing through his body, his hands tracing the curve of her waist. “Sit down and let me clean up this mess. Then we will drink some wine and call the kids down for cake… Or we can just leave this and go to the roof and fuck.”

Orihime narrowed her eyes at him seductively. “Always the romantic, you are. Well, to use your words, fuck this mess. And the last one there is a rotten egg,” she said, making a move for the stairs.

Orihime lost. Ulquiorra cheated. Besides, he was taller than her.

As soon as the door to the roof closed, he had her pinned against it, his hand wrapped gently around her neck while he kissed her. He felt like a man who never had a drink of water before. “I need you,” he said.

She felt boneless. The urgency in his actions and hunger in his voice made her core hot and her inner thighs tremble. She whimpered through her nose as she nodded in response, her hands finding his belt and undoing it, finally whispering, “Yours.”

A growl left his throat as her hand wrapped around his cock. How could her touch drive him mad with lust? He pulled back from her, letting his hands wander over her body. Ulquiorra was glad that she was wearing a dress. His fingers began to pull the material up her legs. “This is where it all began… this time.”

“No,” she breathed, staring deeply into his eyes. “I’ve loved you for much longer than that. I’ve wanted you. I’ve dreamed of you. I’ve been waiting for you.” She had known what was going to happen tonight, and when she was in the office before the pizza came, while she was counting the cash, she had prepared. She kept her eyes on his face as the fabric of her dress came up high enough to reveal her secret of the evening.

Ulquiorra had been expecting Orihime to be wearing panties. He was quite shocked when he saw she didn’t have anything on under the dress. “You’re not...” A soft moan left his lips before he kissed her again. His mouth didn’t stay on hers, traveling down her neck and the exposed cleavage the dress didn’t cover. Sinking to his knees and pushing the fabric of the dress up, the man placed more kisses over her pregnant belly before he stopped to look up at her.

A mixture of lust and deep affection was drowning her brain, and she took the fabric from him with one hand, and with the other she caressed the side of his face and raked through his hair using gentle pressure with her fingertips. She loved him. She could think of nothing else. “Ulquiorra,” she whispered, smiling at him.

Biting his lip, Ulquiorra leaned forward and pressed his lips against her hip bone and then moved to the other side. “Woman, I want to… return the favor but I don’t know exactly what to do.”

Orihime’s dazed look brightened as realization hit her, and a smile broke through the cloud of stupor. “You want to… You want to do that?” She squatted enough to kiss his lips for a moment before standing back up. “I want you to do what feels right. I just want you to touch me,” she said then, pulling her dress back up for him.

With lust filled eyes, Ulquiorra turned his attention to the body in front of him. His hands came up and stroked Orihime’s thighs with gentle movements. This caused her to widen her stance which made it easier for him to access between her legs. In the months of their relationship, he had never studied her body like he was doing now. He paid attention to what made her gasp or whimper as his fingers parted her folds. He made note of what caused her breath to hitch as his mouth traveled towards his goal. “Mmmm,” he hummed. “Woman.”

“Yes,” she breathed. It could be interpreted as a question or as encouragement. Her skin burned with anticipation and she found she couldn’t take a deep breath as the anticipation killed her.

“You’ll let me know if I’m doing it right?” he asked, his eyes shifting up to look at her face. Her lips were swollen and her eyes were glazed over. 

“You’re doing it right, right now,” the words fell out of her mouth in a tortured cry. “You’re teasing me now.”

He tried not to smirk as he leaned forward. His thumbs held her nether lips apart as he placed a kiss there. It was so soft. He could feel how wet she was just from the brief contact. He could smell her arousal and it was turning him on even more. When he was in college, he had heard people talk about doing this activity, but he had never had the chance to experience it. Ulquiorra decided to be bold and swiped his tongue upward. 

Orihime’s gasp ripped through the quiet night and she dropped one side of her dress as that hand clapped over her mouth. She breathed heavily through her nose as she slowly, hesitatingly, brought her eyes down to see what he was doing. 

He did that again, liking her reaction to this activity. Each time she breathed like that, he would wiggle his tongue against that nub he found. 

When he did that, she cried out through her nose, squeezing her eyes shut tightly and trying to keep her knees from giving out. The heat and intensity were next level.

That was interesting. Ulquiorra’s eyes lifted up and he could barely see her face over the baby bump. He pulled away from her and stood. “Get on the loveseat,” he commanded.

The lack of contact was not well received, as she removed her hand from her mouth and pouted a bit. She followed his directive and walked over to the loveseat regardless, whimpering softly each time her thighs rubbed together, emphasizing the wetness between them.

Once Orihime was situated on the piece of furniture, Ulquiorra moved the table in front of it to the side and resumed his position on his knees, between her thighs. He mouthed her slit again, letting his tongue flick against her skin. He liked how her thighs tensed.

Her toes curled in her shoes, bracing against the floor of the roof, as her entire upper legs and ass tensed and relaxed in a pattern in response to his actions. Her hands took turns covering or sinking into her mouth, while the free one grasped at the loveseat cushions or flailed against her own body or touched Ulquiorra’s head. When she dared to do so, she did so carefully; her body was telling her to grab onto that mop of black hair and push it into her. 

As things got more intense, she had a harder and harder time fighting off that impulse, and as she felt her orgasm approach, she allowed her fingers to find purchase in his hair and pull him closer to her for a moment, before releasing and letting her hand fall down to the side of his face as she squeaked, “Ulquiorra, I’m gonna come!”

Wasn’t that the point? Although his jaw ached, he continued what he was doing to the woman. He would see this through.

He did not need to endeavor much longer. Orihime lost control and she grabbed onto his head behind both ears, swiveling her hips around in both directions as her belly trembled and she came hard, crying into the night sky just once, a sharp, ecstatic wail, followed by shuddering whimpers until he granted her mercy and sat back on his heels.

“Excuse me!” she said loudly, and coughed hard several times, announcing to any nosy neighbors, “I can’t seem to shake these allergies! Achoo!”

He laughed as he watched his girlfriend. “Are you allergic to that activity?”

Her eyes darted back and forth before she cupped a hand over the side of her mouth and whispered, “Just making a case for plausible deniability.”

This made Ulquiorra grin wider. “Did I do well? I mean I took cues from your body and voice.”

“Did you--” her eyes widened, unable to believe he would have any doubt in his mind. She shook her head and chuckled, then patted him on the head. “You did good, Ulquiorra. Very good.”


	32. Chapter 32

Ai looked at Yuko, who was pacing the floor of their small apartment. She didn’t know what the big deal was with Cifer. The guy was an asshole. Yuko was stressing herself out over nothing.

“He’s not supposed to be with anyone,” Yuko stated for the hundredth time. 

“I assure you he’s well attached to Kurosaki. She’s a bitch, anyway. Did you know they gave all of us a talking to about appropriate behavior in the workplace?” Ai said. The short-haired woman sighed. “They had Eriko’s birthday there last Monday. She was telling Satomi that she wanted to go to a themed cafe, but her dad wouldn’t let her because it’s too expensive.”

Yuko turned her head and looked at her roommate with a raised eyebrow. “That man is rolling in cash. He never buys anything extravagant.”

“Having a girlfriend who is pregnant and has a kid… Things get pricey when going to Tokyo. You know how expensive it was to live there,” Ai said. She picked up a nail file and began to file her pinky nail into a sharp point. “The only thing Cifer has going for him is his good looks. From what I’ve felt going past him, he might have a sizable dick.”

“Tch.” Yuko rolled her eyes. This woman had no fucking clue. “Okay, so throw out the plan of actually taking Eriko. I’ll just lure her away from him and then if he wants her back, tell him I need money. The boss man might understand that, right?”

Ai stared at the other woman. “You’re pretty far past due on paying him back. I don’t think he’s going to put up with much more delay on your part. Why’d you ask Yukio for a loan? Why not ask your parents?”

Yuko shook her head. She was going to make her own way in life. It wasn’t her fault she had some money trouble. Being a waitress at a bar didn’t bring home much money. No one wanted an old woman for a hostess anymore. She was tired of selling her body for sex. “Which themed cafe in Tokyo? Did Eriko mention that?”

“You’re going to go through with this?”

“I’m still her mother! At any time I can just waltz in there and take her.” The conversation stopped because Yuko’s phone started chiming. She looked at the screen and swore. “Speak of the devil.”

“You’re late,” the bored, tired voice on the other end of the call said.

“I know. I need a couple more days, again. I have the rest of the money coming,” Yuko said. “It’s a sizeable chunk of change, Boss Man.”

It was as if a crackle of irritation traveled through the receiver and slapped her in the ear. “Why do you insist on such theatrics, Yuko? I am not, nor have I ever been, your boss. You are batshit.”

“C’mon Yukio. I think a person of your upbringing would appreciate the title. Don’t worry about the money. I’ll have the rest of it for you.”

Now the voice was quieter, and a bit more mature sounding, as the young man’s irritation took a turn for the deadly. “Don’t worry? You want me to not worry?” A long pause, then he followed up with a rasping kind of whisper, “Instead of concocting whatever harebrained ideas you continue to fail at, how about starting to accept the fact that you’re a washed-up hooker and become a snack bar Mama? You can sing Enka, right?”

A sneer fell over Yuko’s features, but she had to fight for the tone not to come through the phone. “I’ve already accepted that. Thanks. Are you going to give me more time or not?”

“You’ve had enough time. You know why you failed as a hostess? You are a shitty person, Yuko. You were a shitty hostess, and rumor has it you were a shitty hooker. You are aware that hostesses are supposed to be charming and serve drinks, right? Fucking salarymen is not actually a job requirement. The fact is that you’re just a dumb old cow with no soft skills. Get a real job! You have two days.” With that the call ended.

Yuko’s eyes hardened as she turned to Ai. “I want you to text me when Eriko steps foot into that cafe.”

***

Ai did as Yuko said and texted her the next day when Eriko walked in with her father and the orange haired kid. She seemed put out about something. It wasn’t fifteen minutes later when Yuko came in the door.

No one seemed to notice her at first as she slipped inside and started browsing the gift side of the shop. Yuko made sure her back was turned to the other employees. 

It was Ulquiorra who came up to her. “Can I--What are you doing here?”

“Calm down, Ulquiorra. I came to take Eriko out to a cafe… I picked the closest one I could. It’s cat-themed,” Yuko said as she turned around. “I don’t know why you’re so against me wanting to reconnect with her.”

“You do not know why? Is there even a brain between your ears? Are you an imbecile?” Ulquiorra hissed at the woman.

Yuko smiled at him. “May I remind you that you are in your place of business and there are customers around? It doesn’t look good when you insult a potential customer, does it?”

His mouth opened and closed several times. He had to think carefully before he started yelling. Deep breath in, long exhale. He performed this action several times. “Eriko has no desire to be around you, Yuko.”

“I am still her mother. At any time I could relieve you of your parenting duties.”

That did it. Those words sent his spiritual pressure spiking.

Orihime had come around the corner in time to hear Yuko’s words, and the resulting spiritual rise struck her like the heat of opening a super-heated oven with the force of a hurricane wind. She staggered back a step before taking a deep breath and pushing her own spiritual pressure out to counter it and stay in balance. Then she looked at the other woman and spoke in a cold, calculating tone, “In point of fact, Yuko-san, you could not. How many lawyers do you have on retainer?”

“This isn’t your fight, Kurosaki. Please keep your nose out of my business. You’re not Eriko’s mother,” Yuko said, the smile still on her face. “I just want to take Eriko out. I want to spend a bit of time with her, Ulquiorra. You know, do something that you can’t do.”

The green-eyed man bristled and glared at the black-haired woman. “No. I won’t allow it.”

“Then I’ll just ask Eriko myself,” Yuko replied. “You seem to forget I spent my entire pregnancy without your help and I struggled for the first three months of her life before I delivered her into your care.”

Orihime rolled her eyes and shook her head. This woman was an idiot who relied on emotional threats with no basis in legality. “You think you have a leg to stand on, Yuko? You’re hilarious. Get out of my shop before I call the police. You’re not welcome here.”

“We will see about who has a legal leg to stand on,” Yuko said. She turned around and stopped as she saw Eriko standing there. “Eriko, happy birthday. I know I missed the day. I came by to--”

“I heard,” Eriko said. She looked between the woman who gave birth to her and her father. Hearing the words that came from Yuko’s mouth were a slap to the face. Her dad always acted like he was the victim when it came to Yuko and the circumstances that brought about her conception. “You didn’t help her when she was pregnant with me?”

“Eriko, please. This is an adult conversation--”

Once again, she interrupted. Ulquiorra seemed shocked that she would even dare do this. “It concerns me. Don’t you think I would want to decide if I would want Yuko in my life? Should I wait until I go off to university to attempt some kind of relationship with her? Maybe I’ll reverse it this time; cut you completely out of my life, Dad.”

“Eriko, that is no way to speak to your father,” Yuko stated. “I know I’ve done a lot of wrong, but this is an attempt at--”

“Manipulating.” Ulquiorra’s tone was not joking as he spoke the word.

“Shut up and let me finish,” Yuko replied. “I know I can’t be your mom. I know I don’t deserv e that. I can at least be your friend, right?”

Orihime caught Eriko’s eyes for a moment. She gave the girl a loaded stare and shook her head, before raising her eyes to Yuko. “I warned you, Yuko. I suggest you leave before the police arrive. They are on their way,” Orihime growled as Satomi came to stand behind her with the wireless store phone in hand.

“I want to go with Yuko,” Eriko said.

The look on Ulquiorra’s face was heartbreaking. He looked at his daughter with a look of hurt in his eyes. It was like she had physically stabbed him. “Why?”

“Because everyone deserves a second chance. Isn’t that what you always say?” Eriko replied. The girl crossed her arms over her chest. “Or does that only apply to some people?”

Orihime approached Eri and bent over to look her in the eye. “Eri, think very, very carefully about what you are doing. There are some things in life that you cannot take back,” she stood up after that and stood by Ulquiorra’s side, putting a hand on his back. She could not even begin to imagine the pain he must be going through at that moment.

“Well, seeing as I’ve been planning this day for months,” Yuko said, turning to look at the man. “We should go. I’ll bring her home later, or should I drop her off here?”

A sneer was directed towards Yuko and the only thing keeping him from destroying the woman was the fact Eriko was watching and Orihime was beside him. “I will be waiting for her at the train station in Naruki City. I want her back by ten. If she’s not, I will find you, Yuko.”

Yuko waved a hand as if his threats meant nothing. “Calm down, Cifer-san,” she said in a simpering voice. “She’ll be back. We’ll go to the cat cafe, have fun, and I’ll accompany her to the train station.”

The bell on the door chimed, and two officers in uniform entered the cafe. “We received a call from a Satomi Nakamura about a disturbance?” the older officer asked, scanning the interior of the shop.

“Yes--” Satomi started.

“Come, Eriko! We have a reservation to keep!” Yuko said, taking her daughter’s hand. She didn’t look at Ai. She didn’t look back at Ulquiorra. She just dragged the girl out of the shop without another word.

“Satomi, please give a report about what happened to the officers, I’ll be back in a moment,” Orihime said, pulling Ulquiorra by the elbow toward the store window where they could watch Eri leave with that bitch. 

She was worried. She didn't want to provoke Ulquiorra’s stronger emotions, because Orihime felt he would be well within reason to want to lash out at Yuko, despite the dangers. After a few moments, she finally said, “Do you want to follow them?”

He shook his head, swallowing down the ire and rage that kept pushing its way to the surface. He wanted some outlet for this pain he was feeling. “Eriko already hates me today. If I bring her back, it’ll push her towards Yuko more. She’ll learn eventually that the woman who gave birth to her is nothing but a disappointment.”

Orihime rubbed his back, feeling the prickly spiritual pressure that hovered over the surface of his gigai. She couldn’t blame him. Yuko was damn lucky that Orihime only possessed a drop of Ulquiorra’s spiritual pressure; hers was pulsating. “Do you want to go to Urahara’s and blow off some steam? I have Satomi and Ai here. We’ll be fine here at the shop. You can go and vent and go home to be ready to wait at the station?”

“I’m going to go on with my duties, Woman,” Ulquiorra said. His voice was losing all inflection, falling into what sounded like an empty monotone. He gave her a side-eyed glance. “Otherwise, I will go after her. If I have nothing to do, that will be all I think about. When Eriko returns, I am going to make some changes. There is no reason she needs to accompany me here. She can go to Isshin’s or return home after school. I’ve been too sheltering with her.”

Orihime nodded; not because she thought Ulquiorra was too over-protective, but because she wanted to support his parenting decisions. “I understand. If you like, you can take over the walk-in inventory and do the things that require a lot of concentration…” Orihime suggested, trying to be helpful.

Taking a deep breath to ease his nerves, Ulquiorra nodded. His girlfriend seemed to know exactly what he needed.

***

Eriko followed Yuko as they walked down a busy street. They hadn’t gone to Tokyo. A man in a black car had picked them up and driven to Kanagawa. She knew this was where Sato-san was from, but she didn’t remember the place. Her grandmother would tell her stories about the city and her childhood.

They stopped in a store that sold clothing for girls. “It’s a shame your father can’t provide you with proper clothing,” Yuko said. She walked over to a display of underthings and started looking through them.

“What do you mean?” Eriko asked, standing to the side.

“You’re not wearing a bra. That’s an important thing to have once you hit your age. It didn’t even seem like your dad even cares about you,” the older woman said. 

“Orihime was going to take me to get a bra and some makeup,” Eriko said, shuffling her feet. She felt uncomfortable around Yuko. She hadn’t noticed it until they were away from her father and talking about personal things. “She’s been busy.”

“It’s not her right. I’m your mother. I should be the one to teach you that stuff and buy you things. Your dad has kept you from me all these years,” came the statement. Yuko sighed. “I’m not trying to make excuses, I hope you understand that. I wasn’t ready to be a mother.”

The girl with green eyes looked confused, but didn’t say anything until Yuko turned with a bra in her hands and held it up to her. “Wait a minute! What are you--”

“Seeing if this is your size. I don’t think you’ll be very big in the chest area. I’m not that big.”

“Sato-san had a big chest,” Eriko said.

“Sato-san was a nosy bit--” Yuko stopped herself. “She didn’t like me.”

“I wonder why.”

Yuko grabbed Eriko by the arm and steered her towards the dressing room with the tiny bra in her other hand. “Go try this on. When you’re ready, I’ll come in and check it to see if that’s the correct size.”

***

Ten o’clock passed and Ulquiorra stood at the train station. There weren’t that many people who got off the train at that time of night. He stayed well until he knew there were no more trains running. He was even kicked out of the station. Walking back home, he seethed. It was one in the morning and his daughter was not in her bed. 

He walked into the house and slammed the door, not caring if he woke people up. He wanted to destroy things. 

“Ulquiorra?” Orihime came jogging toward the entryway from the kitchen where she had been watching for him to return at the windows.

“What?” he asked as he took his shoes off and threw them with enough force to leave a scuff mark on the wall. He turned and looked at Orihime. “You should be asleep and resting.”

Orihime had her hands near her mouth, nervously making her body as small a target as possible. She had never seen him like this before, and although she wasn’t afraid that he would purposely lash out at her, she was afraid that whatever was bothering him was bad enough to make him lose sight of how strong he was. She took several slow steps backward and asked, “Where is Eriko?”

“She never showed up. I waited until the trains stopped running. Yuko is going to die. She lied,” he stated in a cold voice. He was having enough trouble keeping his cool. Talking about it just made him angrier. “I can’t detect her spiritual pressure. It’s possible that Yuko took off with her.”

Orihime’s spiritual pressure flared before she recoiled it. “Doesn’t she have her phone? Can you track it?”

His head shook back and forth. Eriko didn’t even have her phone on her. He had told her to leave it at home as punishment for getting mouthy with him. “Her phone is in her room. I was stupid. I should have had Yuko arrested for trespassing. I will not make this mistake again.”

Orihime nodded. “This is not good. Do you want me to make a report? I can talk to Urahara and see if there have been any unusual spiritual disturbances nearby. What about Yuko? Do you remember her phone number?”

“I don’t know her phone number. I’ve never talked to her in the past--The last time I had a conversation with her we were being intimate. I’m not counting the first time Eriko met her,” Ulquiorra said. He clenched his fists and walked past Orihime to the kitchen. He opened a cupboard and reached for the bottle of sake he kept there.

Orihime gave him several moments of privacy before she joined him in the kitchen. When she did, her voice trembled as she spoke, her own anger seeping into her words, “We’re going to find her, Ulquiorra. We’re going to find Eriko and Yuko is going to pay. Nobody gets away with hurting my family. I promise you that she will pay.” She watched Ulquiorra drain his glass and refill it, not taking his eyes off of the cup. She sighed, resigned that he was doing the best he could under the circumstances. “I am going upstairs. If you need me, for _ anything _ , just call to me or come to me. I will do whatever you need, but right now, it seems like you need to be alone. I love you, Ulquiorra. Do what you need to do to get through tonight.”

She left the kitchen without touching him, despite her own overwhelming desire to comfort him. Somehow she knew that it wasn’t what he needed right now. He needed to deal with his immediate reaction on his own, she thought, as she went up the stairs. It made sense. This was a problem that was rooted in a time in his and Eriko’s lives that had nothing to do with her. He would likely need some time to process his feelings without her influence.

When Orihime got to their room, she sat in a meditative pose on the bed and closed her eyes, carefully expanding her net of spiritual awareness as far as it could reach, searching for any trace of the girl she considered her daughter.

***

“You told my dad that you would have me back.”

“Yeah, well, I’m having such a swell time with you, kid. Stop complaining,” Yuko said as she drank from a bottle of beer. It was around two in the morning and Eriko was still awake. “Can’t you go to sleep?”

“That bed doesn’t look clean, and is probably uncomfortable.” Eriko stuck out her bottom lip as she watched the woman. “What do you want?”

“Huh? Want? Your dad owes me. I only want what I am due,” Yuko replied with a bitter tone.

Eriko frowned. It made sense now why her dad and Yuko were not together. “Will you take me back tomorrow?”

“Sure, sure. Gonna grab a couple of photos first. Gonna make you pretty.”

The next morning, Eriko was screaming her head off. “Stop! No! What are you doing?! Yuko! NO!”

If anyone was in the rundown apartment building, they would have thought it was just some fight. But inside that dirty apartment, the woman that gave birth to Eriko was sitting on top of her daughter’s back and had a pair of scissors in one hand. The feeling of the shears against her long black hair was traumatic, and hearing the snips made Eriko scream louder. 

When Eriko was allowed to stand, she had no flowing locks that would brush the small of her back.

“If you would have held still, I wouldn’t have cut so much off!” Yuko scolded.

“Why? Why did you do that? Do you know how long I’ve been growing my hair? My dad is going to flip shit!” Eriko screamed back.

Yuko let out a laugh that made the green-eyed girl’s blood run cold. “You’re not going back to your dad, Eriko. This is your life now.”

***

The night was rough for both of them. Ulquiorra never came to bed, and Orihime slept poorly; oversensitive to any blip of spiritual pressure that passed by. She staggered down the stairs and started a pot of coffee early. It was Sunday.

She looked around for her boyfriend. Unable to immediately locate him, she decided to make a call.

“Good morning, Hime-chan! To what do I owe the pleasure?”

“Isshin, it’s bad news.”

***

She hung up after relaying all the details she could, asking her father-in-law to use any resources he had available to him to locate Eriko. Then she started her quest to locate the girl’s father.

Ulquiorra was sitting out on the deck with the empty bottle of sake and a long forgotten cup of tea he had made. He was still angry. His daughter wasn’t home. His first instinct was to break out of his gigai and search every inch of Japan. Yuko couldn’t hide if he leveled Tokyo. All it would take is several of those green spears of energy to be launched. He shook his head and then pushed his face into his hands, feeling helpless.

Orihime spotted him then. She poured a cup of coffee for him and came out onto the deck, quietly opening the sliding door and coming to sit in the chair beside him, setting the steaming cup on the table between them. “How are you holding up?” she asked.

“Just barely,” he muttered. “Her bed is still made.”

She reached out and squeezed his hand. “I called Isshin. I want to go out to look today. We can both take a car; you can take Kazui with you to help with detection,” she suggested in a quiet voice.

Ulquiorra shook his head. “I’m going to wait at the train station. She could turn up there. This is my fault. I should have been more forceful with Yuko. I should have done everything I could to keep Eriko from going with her.”

Orihime’s heart shattered as she listened to him and her grip on his hand tightened. “You did well, Ulquiorra. There was no best course. None of us expected Yuko to pull something like this. But waiting at the station is a good idea. You need to be there in case she shows up. I will take Kazui to Isshin’s and we’ll start a search party.”

“Killing Yuko would be the best course of action. I should have done it the first time she initiated contact with me.”

Orihime got up and stood before him, putting her hands on his shoulders and bringing her forehead close to his. “Ulquiorra, you need to focus. I know you’re terrified and exhausted, but thinking about what you want to do to Yuko is unproductive. What do you remember about that woman? Where did she live? Where did she work? Who did she hang out with? Even if it’s not where she is now, we can ask around and track her down.”

“The last time I saw her was when I lived in Kanagawa. I never hung out with her outside of my old apartment, except to go to karaoke, a bar, or a noodle shop. I never went to wherever she lived,” Ulquiorra replied. He sighed and ran his hand through his hair. “I’m beyond terrified. I’m beyond exhausted, Orihime. What if something like this were to happen with Kazui? What would you do? I guess this is karma coming back and dealing a punishment.”

Orihime got down on her knees and pulled him into a hug. “If it was Kazui, I would have all of Soul Society’s Living-World-Curious scouring the planet. If it was Kazui, I would be in worse shape than you are.” She squeezed him tightly, trying to impart some strength to him. “And you know as well as I do that there is no such thing as karma.”

For some reason, that jogged her memory, even though it was a totally unrelated thought. She pulled back slightly and looked at his face, keeping her arms around him, and asked, “In that note you asked me to reject, didn't she say that she had followed you for years? That she had kept other women away from you? Where did you go and who did you know before you met her? Maybe I could find a lead.”

The man looked at the redhead with deadened eyes. He shrugged. “I knew a couple people from university. They were mostly acquaintances. I didn’t have any lasting connections with people.”

Orihime sighed. “If you remember anything, be it the name of a bar you went to or the name of a person, call me. I won’t stop until we find her, Ulquiorra. You would do the same for me.”

As much as he tried, he could not remember anything about Kanagawa or the people he been friendly with while in university. All the names were muddled together. “Azure maybe? Azu? I don’t remember all that well. I wanted to forget my life after the incident with Yuko.”

Orihime nodded. “It’s a start. Come, let’s get ready. I know you don’t want to - I don’t want to - but you need to eat something and keep your strength. I’ll get in the car and you go to the train station. Call me for any reason. I will let you know the second I know anything.” She leaned forward and kissed his temple, murmuring, “I love you, Ulquiorra.”

“I love you.”


	33. Chapter 33

His phone rang while he sat on a bench inside the train station. He didn’t recognize the number. He answered it anyway. “Hello?” he asked, knowing his voice sounded rough.

“Ulquiorra, you sound terrible.”

“You bitch--”

“Ah, do not insult the woman who gave birth to your child. Eriko’s fine. She’s sitting here with me, eating some onigiri. She says that she’s having fun, but I need to lay things out for you,” Yuko said.

“What?”

“I need twenty million yen.”

The ridiculousness of that statement made Ulquiorra burst with laughter. There was nothing funny about it, but the fact that this woman thought that he had that  much money was insane. “Are you fucking kidding me?”

“Twenty million yen, and I’ll give you Eriko back. If not, she can be put to good use.”

The seriousness of the threat hit him and left him breathless. “You wouldn’t. That’s your child!”

Yuko scoffed. “I owe someone a lot of money. I need the money by tomorrow.”

“Who is it? Yakuza? Are you into drugs? Gambling?”

“Let’s just say that I had a couple of business ventures that failed. My partner swindled me. I had to make up costs,” Yuko said.

Ulquiorra felt a burning sensation in his stomach as he tried to compile this information into something usable. “Where are you? Let me speak to Eriko.”

“Nah, she looks so grown up now, though. I bought her a bra. I gave her a haircut--”

“WHAT?”

“Yeah, she looked infantile with all that hair. I gave her a much more grown-up style,” Yuko commented. “I put makeup on her. She looks like she could serve drinks at a bar.”

Ulquiorra had to resist the urge to scream. “Where are you Yuko? I want my daughter. I went to court to be declared her sole legal custodian. You have no right to her.”

“I’m her mother, and if you want her, I want my twenty-million yen.”

The line went dead and Ulquiorra’s hand tightened around the device with anger. He had to keep a level head. He had to use logic. What would the Espada version of him do? That tripped him up for a moment. 

What would the Espada do?

Think of this situation objectively. He had used Pesquisa to locate Orihime when Grimmjow took her. He could not use that trick for this abduction. He had used his Resurreccion and fought Kurosaki when he found out the shinigami was going to take Orihime from him. It was a battle he ultimately lost. He could not do that this time. The redhead had practically begged him not to take lives this time. She said it wouldn’t be productive. 

Orihime had said that Ishida was the best person to detect spiritual pressure, but he doubted the man would help. Could he go to Urahara? No. He should tell Orihime what had transpired.

  * _Yuko called. She’s basically holding Eriko for ransom._



Orihime asked Kazui to read the message as she drove toward Kanagawa. She had spent the drive so far explaining the situation. The boy had taken the news about as well as could be expected. Orihime asked Kazui to call Ulquiorra and put him on speaker.

Ulquiorra was walking back to the house when he answered. He sounded exhausted. “Hello?”

“Ulquiorra!” Kazui’s voice burst through before Orihime shushed him.

“Tell me, how much?” Orihime asked. If she could afford it, she would put up the money herself.

“Twenty million. I only have twelve in my bank account.”

Orihime’s mouth fell open. Why would that woman want or need that much money? “Ulquiorra, that’s outrageous. I… I could sell the shop, but that takes time! I can move some money around, but I don’t have it easily available and it’s a Sunday. The banks are closed. What the fuck is she thinking? Sorry Kazui, never use that word.”

A sigh left him. “She owes someone money. A lot of money. She needs it by tomorrow. Yuko… She...” Ulquiorra huffed. He couldn’t get the words out of his mouth without feeling sick.

“Do you have her number?” Orihime asked. She knew her boyfriend was operating beyond his limits. Maybe Orihime could talk some sense into this bitch; make a deal with her. “Maybe I can broker a deal with her. I just want Eri home. Today.”

“I want the same damn thing! I wanted her home last night. No, I had to be a dumb ass and show her I wasn’t that bad of a father,” he snapped. He knew his anger was misplaced. Orihime didn’t deserve it. “Sorry. I’m just… frustrated.”

Orihime had to take a few breaths to calm herself before she responded, “I know. Just text me her number and I’ll see what I can do.”

Ulquiorra did that and said goodbye.

***

“What the hell is her number, Eriko?”

The girl trembled with fear. She was standing in just her underwear in Yuko’s dirty bathroom. Her birth mother had smeared stuff on her face, telling her how pretty she was, but Eriko didn’t think so. She looked hideous. Her hair looked horrible and uneven. It was lopsided. It looked like Yuko hacked at it with a knife. 

“I don’t know! It’s in my phone!”

“Where’s your phone?”

“I already told you! I left it at my dad’s because I got in trouble!” she sobbed, covering herself with her arms. 

Yuko scoffed and rolled her eyes. “Stand up. You need to be a big girl and smile for me.”

“I  _ hate  _ you. He was right. You’re nothing but a manipulating--”

SMACK.

This made more tears pour out of Eriko’s eyes. She had never been hit in her entire life. “You’re a liar.”

“Suck it up, buttercup. The world sucks.”

***

Orihime stopped at a highway wayside just outside of Kanagawa and called the number Ulquiorra had texted to her. She had thought a lot about how to handle this over the past fifteen minutes, and she sent out a silent prayer that this would work.

The phone rang. It rang twice more before an automated voice answered, saying that the number was not accepting calls at this time, and hung up.

“Shit!” Orihime hissed, but then her phone buzzed in her hand. She had a message from an unknown number. She opened it and nearly vomited.

What was this woman? Orihime was horrified at the images on her phone. Eriko looked terrified. She was dolled up like a sex trafficking victim. There was a welt on her face.

Ulquiorra was right. Yuko needed to die.

Orihime’s spiritual pressure alarmed Kazui, who got out of the car and took a few steps toward his mother.

“KAZUI! NO! Stay in the car,” she barked at him in a rough voice. There was no way in hell that her son, or her boyfriend, or anyone else in the world, for that matter, would ever see these images. 

She stared down her son until he closed the door of the car and then she tried the number again, this time her hands shaking.

“I see you’re a persistent one, aren’t you Kurosaki?”

“I am. I have your money. Ulquiorra spent his. Where do you want to meet?”

“Mmmm, can’t meet right now. Eriko and I are on our way to work,” Yuko said. It was true. She was on her way to work, dragging the girl behind her. She kept stumbling and dragging her feet as most reluctant kids did. “I can try to meet you tomorrow morning.”

“Tomorrow is too late. This is your chance, Yuko. I’m in town. Where do you work?”

Yuko laughed. “I’m sorry. This isn’t my chance. I’m not going to make this easy for you. You’ll agree to my terms or it’s bye-bye little princess. Tomorrow morning.”

Those words. Those words sparked a memory of Las Noches. A memory of whorish, jealous arrancar tearing her clothing and beating her senseless. Orihime had been benevolent then. 

She was not feeling so generous today.

“Have it your way, Yuko. You fucked with the wrong princess,” Orihime growled and hung up. If Yuko had an ounce of sense, she would call back with details.

Orihime had no money, but she had the means to get her way, even if she had to reject the woman’s very existence.

***

Ulquiorra was trying to drink another cup of coffee when his phone rang. It was that unknown number.  _ Yuko _ . He snatched his phone from the kitchen island and answered it. “What do you want now? How the fuck do you want to ruin my life, Yuko?”

“Now, I called to offer an olive branch. Your bitch says that you’re broke. I’m calling to confirm this. If you are, then I’ll let you talk to Eriko one last time before I ship her off,” Yuko said. It was noisy in the background.

“What? No! I have some money,” he stated. “It’s very hard to gather what I need when the banks are closed. I have no way to get your money.”

“That whore that’s attached to you says that she has my money and I need to give up my location. It’s not going to happen. This will happen on my terms or it won’t happen at all. Do you understand that? If it doesn’t happen, you will never see Eriko again.”

A long, heavy sigh left Ulquiorra. His face contorted into one of rage. How he hated this woman. It was hard to believe that at one point in time he was enamored with her. He couldn’t believe he let himself be manipulated by her. “Is Eriko doing okay?”

“Mmmm, yeah, except she’s mouthy. She’s at work with me and wants to learn the ropes.”

“I swear to God--”

His threat fell on a dead line. Yuko had hung up.

He had to call Orihime.

“Hello?” Orihime sounded cold when she picked it up after seeing Kazui off on a train back to Naruki from Kanagawa.

“Yuko called me,” Ulquiorra said. “Where are you? ”

“I’m at the train station in Kanagawa. I just sent Kazui home. He can’t be here for this.”

Of course she was there. She was more functional than he was at the moment. “Yuko offered to let me speak to Eriko if I was broke before she shipped her off. Why would you tell her I was broke? I’m trying to come up with the other eight million yen.”

“I told her I had all of it. She didn't care. She is going to milk us dry and then sell Eriko to the highest bidder. At least she would, if she had the chance. This ends today.”

There was the sound of glass shattering. Ulquiorra had launched the coffee cup in his hand through the window over the sink. Hearing those words made this whole situation more terrifying for him. He sat there shaking. “I need to get out of this Gigai. No one can see me. I can take care of Yuko.”

“No!” Orihime said, her voice sharp. “No. You will destroy us all, Urahara says. Go to him. Maybe he can advise you. In the meantime… What the hell?” Orihime’s phone was buzzing. “Riruka?”

“What does that twit want? She’s not supposed to contact you! That was in the contract she signed.”

“It’s a text. She says to contact her and that it’s urgent.”

***

Yukio watched as Yuko dragged an even shorter girl into the club with her. He rolled his eyes as he stood in the DJ booth, headphones blocking out the noise from these people who were cleaning up the floor from the previous night. The club wouldn’t open yet for a few hours. Did that aging hooker have his money?

He watched as Yuko dragged the younger woman to a back room. Those were private, VIP rooms. Nobody said “Club’s closed, come back later” to the people who came in and out of those rooms. Maybe Yuko was working extra hard today to get the funds to him. It wasn’t his business how she went about doing it.

A few moments later, the DJ felt a tug on his right ear as someone pulled at his headphones.

“Yukio, why the hell is Cifer’s kid here?” Riruka asked.

The younger man wrinkled his nose at the pigtailed woman in disgust. There was not much to like about her, if you asked him. “Who the hell is Cifer? And how would I know?” he snapped back, pulling his head away.

Riruka didn’t bother to hide her scoff or put up a pretense of being nice. “Ulquiorra Cifer? Bought out my half of that stupid cafe Orihime was running? Why did Yuko just drag his kid through here? She’s like, nine or something.”

Yukio’s head snapped in the woman’s direction. “Are you fucking serious?”

Riruka nodded. She had met Eriko time and time again at Halcyon. The kid was kind of awesome, but her dad was a complete dick. “You don’t remember what Grimmjow and Nel said about him, do you?”

“Can’t say that I listen to idiots, but go on.”

“But you listen to yourself talk every day,” she retorted. Riruka rolled her eyes. “He was an Espada; the fourth. Do you really want a fucking Espada breathing down our necks? Not to mention, Orihime Inoue is practically her stepmother.”

Yukio’s experience with Espada had been less than impressive. He assumed them all to be hot-headed, battle obsessed hollows, without a purpose other than to sate their bloodlust. That didn't bother him much; he knew how to hide from hollows.

What did send a shiver down his spine was the mention of the other Fullbringer. Not only were her powers completely insane, but if memory served, she had the ear of the elite of Soul Society. He did not need this right now. He did not need that ever. He liked this little life he had carved out for himself here. He didn't need some dumb hooker bringing the the wrath of Soul Society down on him. He was supposed to be dead, anyway.

“Fuck,” he said. “I’m gonna go make sure Yuko doesn’t do anything else stupid. What do you think we should do? Call Inoue and tell her to come pick up her kid? And be discreet about it?”

“We could put Yuko in the Dollhouse. I bet she hasn’t paid you anyway. It might be entertaining to watch her try to fight,” Riruka said. The pink-haired woman sighed and tapped a manicured fingernail against her lip. “That’s not Orihime’s kid. Yuko is Eriko’s mom, from what I gathered while snooping. But that kid looks really messed up. I’ll call Orihime. You stop stupid.”

Yukio’s face blanched at the idea that it was her own daughter that Yuko was planning to exploit. “You might find her in the dollhouse entertaining, but unless your teddy bears have deep wallets and enjoy paying for over-ripe hookers, I am not getting paid if she’s in there.” The young man sighed. “Whatever. You do your thing I’ll make sure the girl is safe. That’s fucking sick, anyway.”

Riruka felt like she could see her brain with how far she was able to roll her eyes this time. One of these days they would pop out of her head. “I told you not to lend any money to the bitch. You set yourself up for disappointment satisfying her gambling addiction.”

“Thanks for reminding me why I gave up drinking, bitch,” Yukio grumbled with a wave as he walked back to the VIP room.

“At least I have taste when it comes to one night stands,” she fired back before pulling out her phone and tapping out a text. When it was sent, all they could do was wait.

***

As soon as Orihime exited the train station, she called her former business partner. She didn't wait for the other woman to speak after the line was picked up, muttering, “This had better be important, Riruka, I’m in the middle of a crisis right now.”

“Um, is there a reason why Eriko would be with Yuko?” Riruka asked in a snotty tone.

Orihime’s heart felt like it stopped. The hard edge that had carried her this far wavered, and when she answered Riruka, her fear made her voice reedy and thin. “How do you know that, Riruka? Have you seen them? Please, tell me anything you know.”

The woman sighed, barely able to handle a conversation with the other woman. “Yuko works at the club that I have a hand in. She brought Eriko in. I know it’s Eriko, though she looks like some painted whore. Her hair is a lot shorter. That’s a dreadful haircut, by the way. Anyway, Yuko took Eriko into the back of the house. I don’t know if they’re in a VIP room or dressing area--”

Orihime’s eyelids pressed shut as she listened, drinking in the information until it became clear that Riruka was rambling. She cut her off with a terse, “Where is this club, Riruka? I am coming to get Eriko and bring her home. Yuko kidnapped her.”

“Fine, fine. Just promise me you won’t bring Soul Society down on us.”

“If you protect Eriko until I get there, I will personally make sure that they think you are dead.”

“Don’t worry about that,” she said in a flippant tone. “Yukio’s making sure that the brat is okay. It’s called Deep Azure. I’ll text you the address.” 

“I’ll be there in a matter of minutes,” Orihime said before ending the call. It didn't matter if this club was on the coast. She’d ride her Shun Shun Rikka over there as fast as it would take her. In the meantime, she had to call Ulquiorra.

***

After the phone call with Orihime, Ulquiorra knew his hunch was right. He used Sonido to transport himself to Karakura Town. He walked into Halcyon and stared down Yamada, who was behind the counter. The woman squeaked out a greeting, but it wasn’t going to fly with him. 

While he had been cleaning up the glass in the kitchen, memories assaulted him of his days in college. Yuko always brought around a friend when they went out. Ai Ito hadn’t been very pretty back then. Of course, the bitch hadn’t been married back then, either. They had been at some karaoke place when a drunk Yuko pushed Ai through a glass table for flirting with Ulquiorra. The woman had cut her hand, and the next time he saw her she had stitches and bandages around her hand and arm.

It was funny that this Ai always wore long sleeves, and today was no different. She stood there in a long sleeved black t-shirt. All it took was Ulquiorra striding over to the woman and pulling the fabric up. 

“Hey you can’t--Help! Satomi! Endo--”

“Shut up,” Ulquiorra sneered. “Should I address you as Yamada or as Ito?”

The struggling woman went white at those words. “You remember me?”

“Yes, there was something about you I couldn’t put my finger on, but I’ve never liked you. I didn’t like you back then, and I certainly do not like you now. You told Yuko. Where are they? Where is Yuko and where is my daughter?” Ulquiorra said, applying pressure to the same arm that had that jagged scar running down it. If he used enough force and power, he might be able to break it.

“They’re at--”

Ding. Ding. Ding.

It was his phone. Ulquiorra dragged Ai into the office and leaned against the door after he flung the other inside. None of the other employees said a word to him. It was Orihime who was keeping him from finding his daughter. “Woman. I’m on the verge of finding where Eriko is.”

“I already know. I’m almost there, now. Riruka is with her. She recognized her and called me,” Orihime sounded both frantic and relieved at the same time.

“Oh,” he breathed. Emotions swept through his body, and he wanted to break down, but he couldn’t. He still had to deal with this snake. He spoke knowing his daughter would be safe with his girlfriend. “I had a memory hit me after I broke the window. There was a reason I do not like Ai Yamada.”

“Tell me,” Orihime said, her voice guarded. She was already planning on bringing the pain to one woman, she hoped she didn't need to add another to her list.

“You won’t like this at all. Yuko used to have a friend… Ai Ito. Yuko was drunk one night and got angry that Ai flirted with me. It was just a simple laying her hand on my arm, but it drove Yuko to push Ai through this glass coffee table. Guess who has a scar that matches the injury I remember?”

Orihime’s jaw clenched. “You were right,” she spoke through gritted teeth. “I should never have hired her. I’m so sorry. I’m going to make this right, though.”

A sigh came from Ulquiorra. “I just want my daughter safe. If you reject Yuko, there is nothing I can do or say. You know what I want done,” he said.

“I love you, Ulquiorra. I’ll call you as soon as I have Eriko in my arms. In the meantime, do whatever you want with Yamada. I promised you that Yuko will pay. I’ll leave it at that.”

When the call ended, Ulquiorra looked at Ai. “I want to kill you. I’m not going to, because your life is not worth trading my freedom. You’re going to leave. You will never step foot around me or my family again. Do you understand that Ito--Yamada--whatever the fuck your name is?”

“You’re not going to call the cops on me?”

“And give you the satisfaction of having a roof over your head? No.”

Ai shivered at the cold tone that came out of the man. She nodded her head. “I’m sorry, Cifer-san. I didn’t want to--Yuko, you see--”

“I DO NOT CARE. YOU ARE DISMISSED!” Ulquiorra’s voice could be heard from the street. He opened the door and pointed out it. “Leave. You have exactly thirty seconds to vacate this business.”

“Yes, sir. I apologize--”

The deadly look on his face shut her up.


	34. Chapter 34

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun Fact, if you didn't already know: All of Orihime's shun shun rikka are named after flowers:  
> Hinagiku: a kind of chrysanthemum  
> Baigon: plum blossom? not sure  
> Lily: obvious  
> Ayame: Iris  
> Shun-o: Sunflower  
> Tsubaki: Camilla
> 
> If she had a seventh fairy, what kind of flower do you think it would be named after?

The moment Orihime had the address to the club entered into her phone, she found a quiet off-street and summoned her shield Rikka, forming a platform that she could ride on. She didn't care if she was spotted. She needed to get to Eriko as quickly as possible.

It turned out that everything was relatively close when you could fly over buildings and disregard traffic.

Before ten minutes had passed, she was standing in front of a dilapidated looking storefront with an unlit neon sign that read Deep Azure. She started banging on the door. “Riruka! It’s me! Let me in!”

When she didn't immediately receive a response, she called her former business partner.

“What?” the woman complained. She was standing outside of a VIP room with Yukio. She could feel the wildly fluctuating spiritual pressure. At times it was barely there and other times it felt like it was going to choke her. The spiritual pressure also felt Hollow, and there was no way either of the Fullbringers were going to get eaten by one today.

“One of you better come and open this door or I am going to break it down,” Orihime growled.

Riruka scoffed. “Look, we haven’t gotten Eriko out of that room. There is something in there,” she said. ”I don’t know what the hell it is.”

“ _I_ will deal with it. Just let me the fuck in! Now!” Orihime felt the erratic activity of Eriko’s spiritual pressure, and she started to lose hold of her own self-control. If she didn't see the girl in the next couple of minutes, this building was going to have structural issues.

Riruka had to yell at one of the idiots who was setting up the bar to open the door. There was no way she was going to deal with that mad, hot-headed bitch.

It wasn’t fast enough for Orihime. “Tsubaki!” she barked, and a nanosecond later, the door was split down the middle in two pieces. Orihime marched inside, following the pulses of scared, dark energy coming from the opposite end of the building. She sent out a pulse of her own spiritual pressure, hoping Eriko would recognize it. 

When she got through the hall and into the bar part of the club, she scanned the room and saw Yukio and Riruka standing in front of a door. She knew right away that Eriko was behind it. Why the hell were those two losers just standing there, doing nothing?

By the time she was a few paces away, her spiritual pressure was so elevated that they were able to see a large aura of golden energy surrounding her. Anyone with any amount of spiritual awareness would have been able to see it. “Is there a reason she is still behind that door?” Orihime asked, her eyes cutting into them.

The pink-haired woman had to actually stop from visibly flinching. “Yeah, whoever is behind that door is going nuts. Do you not feel that? Is that Eriko? What is she?”

“Yes, that’s her, you cowards!” Orihime roared, the anger rolling off of her in a shockwave. She had reached her limit. Without warning she spat, “Baigon, Hinagiku, Lily!” 

Three golden swallows sprang from her temples and the woman directed them with her hands, pointing them forward and pulling them apart. Instantaneously, the other two Fullbringers were tossed away from the door like ragdolls, pushed apart by the force of her shield expanding between them.

***

Yuko had pushed her into a room where a man sat in a chair. He was wearing a suit and had blonde hair. Eriko started shaking. “Eriko, this is Mister Smith. You’re going to serve him drinks today.”

“No,” Eriko stammered. She cowered away from Yuko and glared at her. “You’re a bad woman and I hope my dad kills you.”

“I don’t expect you to understand, girl. Your dad owes me. If he wants you back, he’ll pay me,” Yuko whispered in a harsh tone to her. “This man paid me a lot of money, so do as you’re told.”

“Fuck off.” Eriko’s voice was full of malice and anger. 

“What did you say?”

Eriko knew she shouldn’t do it, because she wasn’t really experienced, and the fear was getting to her. She didn’t want to have anything to do with Yuko now. It didn’t matter if the woman got hurt. She was bad. She was evil.

The girl took a shaky breath and let those dark thoughts and feelings overwhelm her.

***

Orihime had half a mind to send Tsubaki sailing through the door, but she wasn’t sure where Eriko was. It could be disastrous to shoot blind. She hoped she might be in luck as she placed her hand on the knob and turned it.

She was. She didn't hesitate to throw the door open as soon as the latch disengaged. “Eriko!” she yelped, as soon as she saw the girl. “Eriko, stop!” 

The girl did not respond. Orihime glanced around the room. It didn't look good. Yuko lay in an unnatural position on the floor, and a suited man sat on a chair in the center of the room, struggling for breath. The spiritual pressure in the room was suffocating. “Eriko!” Orihime screamed, trying to get through to the distraught girl. Orihime had to emotionally remove herself from the situation for a moment. Eriko’s hair had been hacked and she wore a short skirt and a tight, revealing top. Her small feet were crammed into high heels and her face had been done up… Orihime had to focus on not joining the girl in a spiritual pressure ragefit, however much she wanted to.

“Shun’o, Ayame,” she said instead, in a wavering voice. The dome that formed to enclose Eriko was strong; the girl’s spiritual pressure was no longer asphyxiating the other occupants of the club. Orihime poured as much soothing energy into her dome as she could possibly conjure, which, under the circumstances, was not nearly as much as she would have liked. She only hoped it would be enough to get the girl to lower her attack. 

Her eyes felt heavy as Eriko felt warmth encompass her. It was calming and gentle. She had felt this before. It was Orihime. She looked around and saw the woman standing near the door. That was all it took for Eriko to sob, breaking her concentration. This energy was love. This energy was affection. It was safety.

The girl sniffled, sobbed, and started bawling before she dropped to the floor onto her knees, next to Yuko. Her birth mother stared at the ceiling with glassy eyes.

Orihime quickly moved over to the other side of Yuko. She appeared dead. Orihime found that she had no acceptable feelings about this. She felt cold. The woman deserved it. However, one look at the little girl on her knees had her regretting this reaction. “Eriko?” the woman said in a gentle voice, raising her hand to Eriko’s arm. “Eri-chan, tell me what happened.”

“I’m a bad person,” Eriko mumbled.

Orihime touched the woman on the floor with her other hand. Her body was cold. The redhead looked up at the girl’s stricken, terrified, guilt-ridden face. This was unacceptable. She could not allow this sweet little girl to carry this act of self-defense with her for the rest of her life. 

Without a word, or any other indication, Orihime widened her dome to include Yuko’s body. She poured more and more and more spiritual pressure into it. She prayed silently to Ichigo, and Sora, and Rukia, and Byakuya, and even Rangiku. She begged whatever higher powers that may be in the universe to help her now. She couldn’t let Eriko down.

A minute and forty-five seconds later, Yuko’s eyes blinked. The woman coughed.

“What? Who--What the hell?” Yuko muttered as she pushed herself up. “Why the fuck are you here, Kurosaki? How did you find me?”

Eriko was quick to scoot away from Yuko. “What happened? She was dead!”

“No, Eriko. She wasn’t. You didn't. You couldn’t.” Orihime held the girl tightly, kissing the top of her head. “You must have stunned her. It happens to animals all the time. Do you want to say goodbye before we leave?”

“Hell no! I want to go! Is Dad here? I feel him nearby.”

“I don’t know sweetie. I don’t think so, he was waiting for you at the train station in Naruki. But remember Riruka? She’s just outside that door. I’m going to have her take you outside while I talk to Yuko, okay?”

The girl looked at the pink haired woman who was peeking in the door. She then threw her arms around Orihime in a fierce hug. “No, I don’t want to leave here with anyone but you.”

“I know sweetheart. I’ll be right there.” Orihime didn't push the girl away, though. Instead, she pulled the sweater she wore over her short-sleeved shirt off and put it over Eriko’s shoulders. “I want you to put this on and go outside with Riruka. I will be out there in less than two minutes. I don’t want you to hear the kind of language I am about to use on that woman,” Orihime said, giving the girl a look that meant business.

“Okay, but you’ll be right out?” Eriko asked with pleading eyes. She didn’t want to be away from Orihime or anyone else she knew for very long.

“I promise. You know you can trust me, Eriko,” Orihime said, giving the girl a squeeze on the shoulders and a warm smile. “Riruka, please take her outside. At least to the hall. Close the door behind you,” she added without looking away from Eriko.

Riruka had heard the tone from Orihime before. Ginjo had attacked Ichigo, and the woman had laid into the head Fullbringer. “C’mon Eri-chan. I’ll get you some water. Don’t look back. You’re going to be alright.” Before the door shut on the three people in the room, Riruka looked at Yukio. “You might want to trap Mr. Smith. He needs to pay for this after Orihime’s done.”

Orihime overheard. “Do it now. He doesn’t need to see, I mean, hear, this,” she said as if she were only making a suggestion.

Yukio gave a bored sigh before pulling a small device from his pocket. He pointed it at the man who was gasping for breath in the chair before tapping the screen. Eriko almost screamed as the man blinked out of sight. She saw that before looking at Orihime.

Orihime turned and smiled at Eriko once more. “I’ll be right there,” she said as she watched Riruko lead her out of the club. Once they had left, she closed the door to the VIP room, and Orihime turned to Yuko. “So, do you have anything to say for yourself?” the pregnant woman asked, her icy tone reflected in her merciless expression.

“You’re a bitch. You’ve somehow swindled Ulquiorra. Did you use the same trick I did on him? Drug him and then fuck him?” Yuko said as she tried to stand. “He wasn’t even that good.”

“This is what you choose to waste your last words on? You’re pathetic, Yuko. Do you know what you did to that girl? Do you know that she blamed herself for what happened to you when she was just trying to defend herself?” Orihime was giving Yuko a chance. All she wanted was a glimmer of remorse from the woman.

“She’s my kid. I’m her mother.”

“And?”

“Her father owes me,” Yuko snapped. She finally got to her feet, wondering what drugs she had taken to feel like this. “Where is he?”

“He’s at home, waiting for _our_ daughter to return,” Orihime growled. Yuko was not making this easy. Or maybe too easy; it depended on one’s perspective.

“It’s fine. I’ll have more opportunities to get her back,” the woman said, slightly swaying. She sneered at the redhead. “You’re both freaks, with how you look. That’s why I gave Eriko up. Green eyes are unnatural.”

“You know what is unnatural? A woman willing to sell her daughter for profit. You are unfit, Yuko. You will never see Eriko again.” Orihime took a step toward the other woman as a warning.

The room swam and Yuko finally collapsed into the chair. “I needed money. I’m too old to get good paying customers.”

“And you would make Eriko pay the price?!” Orihime screamed, stomping toward the other woman and looming over her. “You had better have a good reason for this, Yuko. This is your last chance,” she snarled, raising a finger towards the other woman’s forehead.

A scoff. “I don’t have to justify myself to you, of all people!”

“Because you never could,” Orihime muttered in a hollow tone, her eyes deadly. “Belladonna, I reject,” she hissed.

A tendril of swirling dark purple and teal spiritual pressure came out of Orihime’s tear ducts and spiraled around her arm, moving like an unnaturally-fast-growing vine until it reached the tip of her finger and pierced the other woman’s skull. There was no physical damage, but all anyone had to do was see the look on Yuko’s face to know that she wasn’t really there anymore. Her pupils dilated and she started drooling and foaming at the mouth. She lost control of her bladder and bowels. Her limbs shook and then went slack.

She did not stop breathing, though.

Orihime’s chin raised in disdain as she watched the arrogant woman before her fall into a puddle of unintelligent, broken half-human. Yuko deserved worse than death. 

It wasn’t until her Shun Shun Rikka started swarming her face that she relented; the purple and greenish-blue spiritual tendril receding back into the woman’s eyes, turning her sclera black until the effect faded. It was only then that Orihime felt a pang of regret. It wasn’t enough for her to reject what she had done, though.

“Have a nice life, Yuko, whatever that is for the rest of it, anyway.” Orihime muttered before turning to leave. She didn't look back.

***

Eriko sat in the passenger side of the car in silence. They had ridden this glowing triangle to where Orihime had parked the vehicle. Neither of them said anything. As soon as they were on the ground, the girl started shaking violently. She made a beeline to her dad’s car and shut herself in it. Her dad’s space was safe. Orihime was safe.

The redhead had assured her that no one else would ever hurt her. 

Eriko shook her head. Orihime had done something to bring Yuko back. That blonde guy had done something to the other man. Riruka poorly explained over a bottle of water that there were people with special abilities and left it at that. 

Again the shivers started. Eriko had to wrap her arms around her knees to keep them from becoming too bad. That first wave of darkness was so intense, that the girl knew Yuko probably died with how she dropped to the floor. No one laid like that comfortably or on their own. 

She was a bad person. Her mom was a whore. Eriko would probably grow up to be like her.

Orihime was keeping close tabs on Eriko’s emotional state, not only on how she appeared, but the tone of her spiritual energy. Things were going from bad to worse. She decided to stop on the far west side of Tokyo in a wooded wayside off the expressway. She pulled into a parking spot and turned the car off before turning her body towards Eriko.

“Sweetheart, you have been through something horribly traumatic. It’s normal for you to feel all the feelings you are feeling. I have two questions for you right now, and I think you can handle them. The first one is, would you like a hot drink?”

Eriko nodded. “Can I have some hot chocolate?”

“I can get that for you. My second question, and you can answer me when you have the hot chocolate, is do you want me to make your hair back to the way it was?”

The girl didn’t need to waste time to give Orihime an answer. She nodded. “Please? Yuko said I looked like a baby while my hair was long. I needed to look more grown up. I screamed at her and tried to fight her but she--she cut it.”

Tears threatened to form in Orihime’s eyes, but she blinked them away. “You did well, Eriko. You were so brave. I’m so proud of you. You can stay in the car or come with me to get the drinks,” she said as she opened the car door and went to the line of vending machines in front of the car.

Because Eriko could see her, she waited in the car. Orihime returned to the car two minutes later and passed Eriko a can of hot chocolate. She had one for herself that she set to the side. “Okay, you can start on that, and then we’ll get your hair back. If you want to talk about anything while we do this, feel free, okay? Ayame, Shun’o, I reject,” she said, her eyes smiling at the girl.

This time Eriko could clearly see the small people as they flew around her head. They were tiny things, dressed like some older folks dressed. They looked like the people she saw in Old Reo’s kung fu movies. “They’re pretty,” she said before taking a sip of the drink Orihime handed her. “I’m--I’m a bad person, Orihime. I’m going to be just like Yuko. She’s a horrible--a horri--” the words stopped as she started to sob again.

“You’re right, Eriko,” Orihime started in a serious way. She wanted the girl to understand that she wasn’t just brushing her concerns under the rug. “Yuko is a horrible person. She is mean and selfish and manipulating and soulless and everything that you are not. You can never be like her. You will never be like her. You are good. You love your family and you care about people. You hurt her today, that’s true, but you had to. Self-defense does not make you a bad person.”

“But she is part of me, just like Dad’s a part of me. Maybe she gave me the bad part of herself,” Eriko said. She was trying hard to keep her composure, but it wasn’t working. She started crying everytime she got herself calmed down.

One of Orihime’s Rikka, Ayame, chirped, “Eriko-sama is good. Eriko-sama’s reiatsu is her own,” the fairy grinned.

Hearing the fairy speak made Eriko’s mouth form into an O. “They can talk,” she said in disbelief. “Wait, what’s reiatsu? And how do you know I’m good? Daughters of whores can’t be good.”

Orihime smiled at her. “Do you think I’m good, Eri-chan?”

Again, Eriko nodded at a question the redhead asked. “Of course you’re good. Your mom and dad must have loved you.”

“Eri,” Orihime’s eyes relaxed more and her smile softened. “My father was an abusive alcoholic and my mother was a prostitute. They did not love me. They were cruel and selfish and they did not raise me after I was three years old. I am a good person because your parents do not determine who you are. Your blood doesn’t make you good or bad, just as it doesn’t dictate who your real family is. You are good, Eriko. I love you.”

The girl’s eyes went wide, showing off a lot of the green irises. This information she was given conflicted with how she imagined Orihime was raised. In Eriko’s mind, she was loving and caring because that’s how her family was. It was just how Kazui’s extended family was. “I didn’t know. I thought...I love you too, Orihime. Thank you for helping me. I still think dad is around. I can feel him.”

Orihime felt a flutter in her belly and had a passing thought. “Eriko, may I have your hand for a minute?”

“Why?” she asked holding her hand out, palm side up.

Orihime took the girl’s hand and placed it palm-down on her belly. “Is this what you feel?”

A wondrous look came over Eriko’s face as she felt something under her hand. This was exactly what she had been feeling. “Did you eat Dad? What is that?” 

Orihime laughed a big belly laugh, causing Eriko’s hand to bounce up and down on it. “No, silly. That’s your baby brother. Or sister, but I kinda think he’s a boy. He takes after your dad a bit, but only in the good ways,” she added a wink for levity.

“Oh,” she said, retracting her hand. “Are you going to tell Dad about what I did to Yuko?”

“I’m going to tell him that you protected yourself and that I’m so proud of you. I know what you did scared you, honey, but it was right. It was the right thing to do and god forbid if anything like this ever happened to you again, I don’t want you to hesitate to protect yourself.” Orihime paused, observing the look of horror that was descending over the girl’s features again. “But, there is one thing; we need to train you to understand your power. You did more than you wanted to today. I can tell. With training, you’ll be able to decide what you want to do and do it, instead of your power just taking control for you. Right now, you’re like a baby with a match; no, a baby with a flamethrower. A baby can’t control the fire. With a little training you’ll be like one of those French pastry chefs with a flambe torch, only using it to make perfect little creme brulees.”

Eriko raised an eyebrow and considered the woman’s words. She had no clue what the woman was referring to, but she shrugged as if she understood. “I’m never going to doubt Dad again. I’m going to listen to him.”

“Oh shit!” Orihime said suddenly, then slapped a hand over her mouth and crumpled her brow in an apologetic way. “Sorry for swearing. I promised him I’d call him as soon as I had you but we were both kinda… you know. Let’s call him now, okay? I will put him on speaker. Also, take a look in the mirror,” Orihime said with a small smile as she fished her phone out of her purse.

When Ulquiorra’s phone rang he was sitting in the cafe’s office, still wondering what the hell was going on. What had he done to Yuko to make her hate him so much? “Hello?” he asked in a tired voice.

“Darling? I have someone here who really misses you,” Orihime said before looking over at his daughter, cueing her to speak.

“Hi, Dad,” Eriko said in a timid voice.

As soon Ulquiorra heard his daughter, he felt his body relax as his shoulders slumped. “Is she safe? Did she get hurt? Where is Yuko?”

“Yuko is either at her place of employment or in a hospital, I think. She will never bother any of us again. _Ever_ ,” Orihime answered, her tone leaving no room for doubt.

“I trust you used discretion and your better judgement?”

“I’ll fill you in later, but yes. You know you can trust me. Eriko was a champ, though. She didn't let mean old Yuko get her way, did you?”

The girl blushed and shook her head. “No. I protected myself.”

Ulquiorra sighed in relief. His daughter was safe. She was okay… at least physically. Mentally might be another story. “Okay. I’m going to head home. I will see you two there. Please, please hurry.”

“We’ll be there in an hour,” Orihime answered.

When he arrived home, Ulquiorra collapsed on the couch. The man was beyond tired. He hadn’t slept since Eriko disappeared.

Fifty-seven minutes after she ended the call, Orihime opened the door to the house. “We’re home!” Orihime called out, already hearing Kazui’s footsteps clamoring down the stairs.

Ulquiorra was asleep on the couch. His face looked tense. Eriko looked at Orihime. “Should I wake him up?” she asked.

Orihime sighed; he looked exhausted. Still, if it was her… “You better. He’d want to know the second you got here.” She gave the girl a small nudge with her hand.

Eriko didn’t go over to her father. Instead she walked over to Kazui and pulled him into a hug. She had never been so happy to see her best friend.

Kazui froze for a moment and then returned the hug. “Are you okay, Eri?” he asked in a gravely, worried voice.

She nodded and then let him go. “I’m fine. I just--” Eriko sniffled. “Sorry.” The girl turned and moved to the couch where her father was and sat down next to him.

Immediately, Ulquiorra’s eyes were open. He saw his girlfriend. He saw Kazui. Then he looked to the side with an alarmed expression seeing Eriko. “Oh my god,” he stated. “Eriko...”

Eriko gave him a smile, tears filling her eyes. Her bottom lip trembled. She didn’t care if there were people watching. She didn’t care if anyone would mock her for it. The girl climbed into Ulquiorra’s lap and hugged him just as tightly as she did Kazui. Perhaps even tighter. As soon as he returned the embrace she started crying again.

Orihime walked over to where Kazui stood and draped an arm over his shoulder, watching the pair on the sofa. She was starting to feel fatigued now that everyone was back where they belonged. She gave her son a squeeze and murmured, “I need to sit down.” She walked over to the kitchen island and sat on a stool. She didn't mean to let her head rest on the hard surface, but she did, and soon was no longer awake.

“Shhh,” Ulquiorra said, trying to soothe his daughter. After fifteen minutes he moved her off of his lap. “Go upstairs. Take a shower, then rest. What happened to your hair? I thought Yuko cut it?”

“Orihime fixed it for me. I’m so sorry Dad.”

“I know, Eriko. Please. You need to take care of yourself first. Do as I asked, and then we will talk.”

The girl nodded and went upstairs. Ulquiorra looked at Kazui. “I’m going to take your mom upstairs,” he said.

The boy nodded. “I’ll get the rice started for dinner.”

“Why don’t you make some eggs too?”


	35. Chapter 35

Ulquiorra didn’t go to work the next morning. He even called those employed at the cafe and told them they weren’t opening that day. It was a rare occurrence, but everyone needed a day to recover from this. He sat on his bed with Orihime and waited for her to wake up. He had a white box sitting beside him.

When he couldn’t take it anymore, he gently shook her shoulder. “Orihime, wake up.”

She opened her bleary eyes slowly. “Hey, what time is it?” It had been mid-afternoon when she fell asleep.

“Almost ten. Don’t worry about the cafe. We’re closed today.”

“Whoa!” Orihime said, rising up on her elbow. “I know I overdid it yesterday, but I didn't think I slept through the night.” She spotted the box then, distracting her. “What’s that?”

He didn’t answer right away. He helped Orihime sit up and made her a comfortable spot to lean against the headboard. When he was finished, Ulquiorra looked at her. “You showed me those journals, remember? This is my side of that bargain.”

Orihime smiled. She was excited for this. “Open it!” she urged.

She was like a kid in a candy store. He gave her a stern look before he picked up the medium sized box and handed it to her, placing it on her lap. “You open it.”

So she did. She lifted the lid and set it to the side with some care before pulling aside some tissue paper that obscured her view of what was inside. The first thing she saw was a pure white horn, set at an aerodynamic angle, leading her eyes down to a smooth half-dome framed with ridges around the perimeter. 

Using a delicate touch, she lifted the object out of the box. It was not as heavy as she anticipated it would be, but it did have some heft to it. Once it cleared the box, she was able to truly appreciate that this was the thing he had shown her before in a photograph. It looked like art.

“Why don’t you display this in the house somewhere? It’s really quite beautiful,” she murmured as she examined it, tilting it to appreciate the angles.

“Because it’s morbid to have a part of my head on display,” Ulquiorra replied. He cleared his throat. “For some reason, I’m stuck in my Segunda Etapa form. The big black bat creature you saw in Urahara’s bunker is not what I looked like as an Espada.”

Orihime frowned and looked back down at the helmet. If that wasn’t what he looked like, no wonder she still couldn’t remember. Maybe… “Does it still fit? Could you wear it now?”

Ulquiorra always wondered why he had searched the sands around Las Noches for this thing. It seemed like it was calling his name to retrieve it. An Arrancar going into its Resurreccion was like a snake shedding its skin, but it happened rapidly. In a blink of an eye a new form appeared while the last was left in the dust. 

He took the horned helmet from Orihime and looked at her. “I was short as an Arrancar. Probably the shortest Espada. All the other Espada towered over me. My hair wasn’t quite as long. I had Estigma that went down my face. This thing brought me comfort.”

It brought a smile to the woman’s face to hear him speak of the object fondly. “I’d like to see it,” she encouraged.

With a nod, Ulquiorra turned his helmet around and placed the thing on his head. He could feel the ridge digging into his scalp. When he spoke the words that would release Murcielago, he knew the helmet had snapped off. A new one had appeared. When he did his second release, that one had cracked in half to fall away. Two horns grew then.

When he was comfortable with the fact that the thing would stay on his head, he looked at Orihime.

Her heart twisted and her mind balked. “I know you. I know you, I know I know you! Why? Why won’t my brain cooperate?” she cried, tears springing from her eyes. It was a strong, sudden reaction. “I want to remember,” she whimpered, her hands tracing the path those teal tear marks once traveled down his cheeks. 

Orihime slowly made her way into his lap, still silently crying as her hands and fingers explored his face and the helmet. When she was close enough, she kissed him, her lips lingering on his as her breath struggled to stay steady. Her arms wrapped around his shoulders and held tightly. “All I can remember is the sadness. The crushing, overwhelming sadness. And, knowing that I know you; that I was never afraid of you… I  _ need to remember, _ ” she hissed the last part as her face fell into his neck. “I need to remember you.”

Ulquiorra sat there. He held Orihime, letting her take comfort in him. “I’m sorry that you feel that. If need be, I will find this Tsukishima and I will have him lift whatever he’s done to you. Before our child is born, I will do that.”

Orihime shuddered. “I don’t know why it’s so important, but it just is. I would go myself. Maybe I can ask some friends for help. I don’t want to be separated from you for any great length of time.” She sighed and let go to look at him again. “You are so beautiful to me,” she whispered, once more tracing the ridge of his helmet toward his jaw. “I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that I had fallen in love with you then.”

“Do not worry about it, Orihime. I’m going to confer with Isshin and Urahara to see what can be done. Maybe I can get Yoruichi-san to go in my place to retrieve him.”

Orihime sighed and nodded, starting to pull the blankets away from her to get get up. “I’m sorry to be crude, but I need to use the bathroom,” Orihime admitted, feeling the need urgently. She felt some pain and was unable to bear it anymore. “The baby doesn’t allow for me to choose the timing on my own,” she began as an excuse as she moved her legs to the side of the bed.

It wasn’t until her feet were on the floor and she tried to stand that she knew that something else was wrong. She gasped as she felt something warm trickle down her leg, and she felt a tug in her belly before she turned around and saw red on the mattress. “No!” she cried in a tiny voice.

Seeing the smear on the sheets in the spot where Orihime was laying, Ulquiorra began to freak out. He removed the helmet from his head and stood up next to her. “Um, you’re injured. I need to call Isshin. You need to go to the hospital. This is not normal,” he said.

“I can’t wait for Isshin,” Orihime’s voice trembled as she felt a coldness grip her body, fear racing through her veins. “I need to get to the nearest hospital, now,” she was still whispering, terrified that if she said what she was thinking too loudly, it would come true. “I might be losing Three,” she choked on her words, covering her mouth and trying to get to the door.

“No,” he stated, in flat out denial. They were almost halfway through this pregnancy. Ulquiorra wouldn’t allow her to lose the child. He would do everything in his power to help her hold onto it. “I will take you now. I will call Isshin once we’re at the hospital. Eriko! Kazui!”

It was only seconds later that the girl was in the doorway of the bedroom. “What? Oh my god,” she said, eyes growing wide. It looked like Orihime had done battle and lost. “What’s going on?”

“We’re going to the hospital. There might be a problem with the baby. We need to go now and make sure everything is alright,” Orihime’s voice warbled, trying to be brave but not convincing anyone that she was anything other than terrified. “We’re going now. Eriko, get your phone and please pack a bag for me with clothes and underwear and we will call you when we know where we are. Run and take the cash out of my wallet now while we go downstairs, Kazui.”

The boy’s breath stuck in his throat and he could only nod before turning to race down the stairs to where his mother kept her purse.

Eriko nodded and waited as Ulquiorra picked the redheaded woman up and started walking towards the stairs. She found an overnight bag that had never been used and looked through the dresser, gathering what the woman would need. It only took her several moments to finish that task and run down the stairs. Her dad was putting Orihime into his car. “Here,” she said, holding out the bag.

Her father took it and placed it on the backseat. “Go inside. Make sure you two eat lunch and not just junk.”

It figured, her dad was going through another crisis and he was focused on their nutrition. She gave a nod though.

Kazui ran out with Orihime’s purse as the car started. “Ul-Ulquiorra,” the boy stuttered. “Take care of my mom, please.”

“Don’t worry, Kaz,” Ulquiorra said, putting the car into gear. “We will call when we know what is going on. Go back inside.”

***

Orihime lay on a hospital bed with a fetal monitor strapped around her belly. The bleeding had stopped, but they were waiting for a doctor to come in and tell them what had happened. All that they knew so far was that Three was still alive, but that was all that mattered to Orihime.

They had been waiting quietly for about half an hour when Orihime turned to Ulquiorra and murmured, “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry. From what I understand, things like this happen. I think you overextended yourself. You haven’t been getting proper rest and I’m sure you used your powers yesterday,” Ulquiorra said.

Now that the kids and doctors were scarce, it would be a good time to tell him the truth. “I… I used powers I didn’t know I had. I think Three had an influence. I didn’t stop. I could have killed him,” she choked on a sob. 

What? What did she mean? “Orihime, what powers?”

“I’m not sure. When I arrived, Yuko was dead. Eriko’s spiritual pressure was too strong. I couldn’t let her live with that,” Orihime started. She needed to take a moment before she got to the rest.

Eriko had killed Yuko? Was the girl that strong? A heavy sigh left him as he thought about this. His daughter probably had been scared. It would make sense if her spiritual pressure was rampant and unchecked. “It was a choice she had to make. But you’re right, Eriko shouldn’t have to live with it. You should have called me to help you.”

“There was nothing else I could do; that’s what I thought, anyway. After Yuko woke up, she was saying awful things. She had…”. Orihime swallowed hard. “She had made Eriko up to look like a prostitute. I couldn’t forgive her, Ulquiorra. Especially when she showed no remorse. There was a man in that room with them.”

Ulquiorra’s hands tightened on the arms of the chair, making them crack from the pressure. Yuko had done a lot of bad things to him. Some of them he could brush aside, but the fact that she had done some heinous things to their daughter… “Is she still alive?” he asked.

“Yes, I think, but she will never walk or talk again. I… I think I scrambled her nervous system. She can breathe, that’s about it. Death is too good for her.”

“Tch. She deserves a whore’s death, meaning dying on the street where no one cares about her,” he stated. He was already trying to restrain his anger. “You should have rejected her existence.”

“I don’t know if I could have; I was running low on spiritual pressure. But unless someone is willing to take care of her or pay her medical bills, you’ll get your wish in a matter of days.” She paused and found his eyes. “I used a technique I did not recognize. It came from my eyes…”

“Your eyes?” Ulquiorra scowled. “Was it like your other powers?”

“Yes and no? I summoned it like a cero; but it was nothing like a cero. I called it Belladonna. I cried it out and it traveled over my skin into her mind. It was a rejection technique I think, but it was none of my Shun Shun Rikka.”

The man went quiet. There was nothing hollow about Orihime. Maybe it was Three. How powerful was the fetus? “I think we need to take you to Urahara. He needs to check out Three. What if the baby is the complete opposite of Eriko?”

Orihime thought he was jumping the gun, but she wouldn’t deny him answers. “I need to have my own spiritual pressure evaluated. I think it’s dangerously low at the moment. I think that’s what caused the bleeding. Either using it so much or not having enough to keep Three safe.” 

Closing his eyes, Ulquiorra focused on the spiritual pressure in the room. Orihime was right. Hers was low, but he caught a glimpse of another. It was much like Eriko’s. There were times he could feel that and other times he couldn’t. “Three has spiritual pressure. I can feel it now. It’s steady. Other times I can’t feel it. Maybe Three can block it? It’s all speculation, but it might be good to brainstorm theories to keep me from going insane.”

Orihime nodded. She was impressed that he hadn’t burned through his gigai after telling him what she saw when she went into that VIP room. “Do you know that once a woman carries a male fetus, she carries male DNA in her bloodstream for the rest of her life?”

“No,” he said, shaking his head. Before now he had no use for knowledge like that. Ulquiorra wasn’t one for useless trivia, although Eriko loved it. “Are you some hybrid now?”

He managed to get her to chuckle a bit. “No, it’s just there. But that fact led me to a theory that Three’s makeup perhaps has left a permanent mark on me. I don’t think that Three is capable of fighting, or even aware of what is going on outside of me. I don’t think he is a god. I could be wrong, but c’mon. Anyway, I think this Belladonna is a product of his innate qualities seeping into me.”

It made sense. It was a scary idea. but it explained things. Ulquiorra got up from the chair and walked over to where Orihime was laying. “Do not do this again. I will come to you if you need assistance, Woman. My desire to protect you is strong.”

Her heart melted. She reached the hand that didn’t have a needle in it to him. “I promise. I will never jeopardize Three again. I just couldn’t let Yuko live after what she did to Eriko.”

Ulquiorra nodded. He would not have let Yuko live either. Her death would have been painful, though. “I’ll make it a point to talk to Eriko privately when we return home. She needs a chance to tell her side of what happened.”

Orihime nodded as a doctor entered the room.

Now that was settled, Ulquiorra stared at the doctor. He was hoping for good news.

“Well, Kurosaki-san, Cifer-san, I have good news and bad news. The good news is your baby is just fine. The heart rate is stable and your pelvic exam didn’t reveal any cervical incompetence or premature labor or anything like that,” the young male physician said with a smile that seemed out-of-place.

“What’s the bad news?” Orihime asked.

The doctor’s face grew serious. “You are clearly stressed, Kurosaki-san. Cifer-san told me you are on your feet all day and carrying things around in addition to caring for your two other children. In order to preserve your pregnancy, you’re going to have to go on physical restrictions.”

Orihime’s eyes nearly popped out of her skull. “Physical restrictions?! What does that mean?”

“It means no working more than two hours without taking two hours off. Lie down more. Keep your feet up. No lifting anything over ten pounds. Sleep more. Drink more fluids; you were dangerously dehydrated when you came in here.”

“I can’t do that!” Orihime protested.

“It’s that or risk your baby’s health. If that happens, you’ll be put on full bedrest; no work, no sex, no exercise; you’ll be basically strapped to a bed. Be reasonable.”

Orihime put a hand on her forehead. What were they going to do now? “Of course, Doctor,” she finally said in defeat.

Ulquiorra was relieved. “Orihime, it’s better this way. I can always pick up the slack. I’ll come to the cafe right after school. Kazui and Eriko can also help out.”

Orihime was feeling guilty. “I know, but none of you should have to.”

“It’s half my cafe. It’s my responsibility also.” He gave her a stern look as if he were scolding a child.

Orihime sighed. She knew she was being stubborn because she didn’t like this. She also knew she would comply because she didn’t want to risk her baby’s health. She closed her eyes and nodded before murmuring, “I know.”

The green eyed man nodded. He would make arrangements for a chair to be placed in the cafe for her. "You could always get an office chair to work in the kitchen, you know, one of those rolling kinds.”

“I’d rather you just not twist much, if possible,” the doctor interjected while watching the couple. Orihime has almost forgotten that he was there. “Two hours up, two hours down. No lifting. Hire someone.”

“We’ll have to hire two new people,” Ulquiorra muttered. He thought about it and then sighed. “Maybe Satomi knows someone.”

“Well despite the bad timing, I can’t say I’m sorry to see Yamada go. Maybe Yuzu can help until we find someone. She can wear the baby.” Orihime said with an uncertain expression. Then she shook her head and huffed. The cafe could fail and they would be fine. If anything happened to Three… She needed to get her priorities straight. “It’s gonna be fine. We might need to change our hours of operation for a bit, but it will be fine. The baby is what’s important,” she said with a nod of assurance.

A hint of a smile came over Ulquiorra’s mouth. He leaned over and kissed Orihime’s temple and squeezed her hand. “Everything will be fine.”

***

They called the kids on the way home later in the afternoon. Orihime called Satomi and Endo-san to explain the situation. It was no surprise that the women were supportive. They were good people and loyal to Orihime. She just wished they were more available. Still, she felt relieved that they were on board with the new circumstances.

When they arrived home, Ulquiorra carried the woman into the house and placed her on the sofa, then he called for the kids. The two distinctly different children presented themselves right away. “We know we told you two what happened, but there will be some changes around here. You are growing older and that means more responsibilities.”

Kazui was worried about his mom. He had seen the bloody sheets; he had been the one to strip them off and bring them down to the laundry. He wasn't sure what Ulquiorra was getting at, but he was attentive and eager to know what he could do.

“You two will be required to help out with the housework, not just keeping your rooms clean. We can keep up the house while Orihime rests. On the weekends, I would like you to help out at the cafe,” Ulquiorra said.

Orihime was feeling guilty again, and piped in, “We’ll be looking to hire people for the cafe, so it will be short-term at the cafe, hopefully. But I’m sorry you’re going to be on your own for laundry and I’m only going to be able to prepare things that are simple to make for food. I’ll need you two to share the vacuuming and dusting and bathroom cleaning…” she trailed off, seeing an unreadable look on Eriko’s face.

“It’s fine,” the girl said. She had done most of that when it was just her and her dad. “Kaz and I can do it. We can all take turns preparing meals. This will be a good experience for us.”

Ulquiorra reached out with a hand and placed it on Orihime’s shoulder. “You two may return to whatever you were doing. Orihime and I must talk.”

Kazui got up and hugged his mother and then gave Ulquiorra a one-armed hug, before blowing out a deep breath and announcing, “Well I’m glad everything is okay now. Can we all just be normal for a couple weeks now? The stress is killing me!” He turned then, and ran up the stairs, leaving Orihime bewildered and amused.

“Oh, Eriko?”

The girl turned and looked at her father. “Yeah?”

“We need to talk later.”

She nodded before also running upstairs, leaving the adults alone.

“So, what are you thinking?” Orihime asked as she turned her attention back to Ulquiorra. He had been all business since they got to the hospital.

He sighed and sat in the armchair. “You will follow the doctor’s orders. Full bed rest means that we cannot be intimate. This will lead to both of us becoming irritable. I also do not want to see you harm yourself,” he stated.

She nodded. “I know. I may need some reminders, though. Ten pounds is not a lot.”

“I know that. First order of business is hydration. I will get you a bottle of water. Would you like anything else before I start on some work?”

“A notepad? The remote? I am going to need distraction.”

He nodded and got her the items she requested along with a bottle of water. Ulquiorra also brought her a snack of peanut butter and crackers. He always wondered if Orihime liked the stuff. “If you need anything, let me know.”

“A kiss, please?” 

He could not deny her request, so he bent down and captured her lips with his, letting his hand tangle in the hair at the base of her neck. “Later I will make love to you. You need to rest now.”

She blushed and nodded, grateful for him and his love. “What are you going to do now?” she asked.

“I’m going to run some numbers and see if I cannot find a suitable chair for you to rest in while at the cafe,” Ulquiorra responded. “Then I’m going to go over my lesson plan for tomorrow. I probably should figure out what I am going to teach them. After that, cleaning.”

“Don’t forget to rest, yourself. You’re not running on full gas either. You’ve had a very hard couple of days,” Orihime reminded him.

He gave her a smile before he walked over to the kitchen island, where his phone sat, along with his bag. “I will, Orihime.”

***

Orihime woke up on the sofa later that evening as the family was cleaning up after dinner. She stood and followed the sound of plates clanking and the smell of cooked pumpkin and sweet potatoes. “What did you guys eat?” she asked with a yawn as she entered the kitchen.

Eriko answered with a grin. She was portioning out rice and vegetables along with some meat into bento boxes. “We made chicken and vegetables and rice! Dad helped.”

Orihime smiled at the girl. She seemed to have bounced back from her ordeal with Yuko quickly. She was sure Eriko would still have to work through some of it, but overall she was coping well. “Well, it smells delicious. Did you save a plate for me or was it an each man for himself dinner tonight?” she asked with a chuckle.

Ulquiorra came into the kitchen with a basket of unfolded laundry. He scowled when he saw the redhead was walking. “Eriko requested enough ingredients to make everyone a plate and leftovers for lunch tomorrow,” he replied. “Why are you up? You should be resting. I could have brought you a plate.”

Orihime sighed and smiled at him. “I have to get up and move around from time to time, otherwise my blood won’t circulate properly. I've been lying down since we got back.” She looked at the laundry basket and back at him. “I can fold that, if you put it by the sofa. Kazui can bring it upstairs when I’m done.”

“Are you certain? I can fold--”

“Dad, you’re smothering her. Didn’t you say the doctor said she could be up for two hours before taking a break?” Eriko said. She walked over to the microwave and opened it, retrieving Orihime’s plate. She also got out a pair of chopsticks for her before looking at the older woman. “Where do you want to sit? In here, or at the table?”

“I’ll eat in here; I need a change of scenery,” she said, smiling wider at Eriko’s attitude. The girl knew how to take charge, that was for sure. A first child all the way. “Anyway, after dinner I was thinking I should call Isshin or Urahara-san and set up a time to meet with one of them tomorrow. What do you think?”

Ulquiorra glared at his child briefly before he turned to his girlfriend. “I think that would be the best course of action. Do you think you can manage the visit on your own, or make it for a day when I am not needed at school?”

“Well, if we meet with either of them tomorrow, I could probably arrange it for the early evening. I think if I talk to Isshin he’ll insist on having us over for dinner anyway so then everyone can have a break tomorrow. I wouldn’t mind the second opinion, anyway. But…” she trailed off, not sure she wanted to say this next part in front of Eriko, and trying to come up with a way to put it that would not make her worry.

His eyes darted from Orihime to his child. She was pretending to be busy, but he knew Eriko was listening in. “Are you done, Eriko? I’ll finish up here. Go take a bath. After you’re done, we will speak.”

The girl pouted before she slumped out of the room slowly. Ulquiorra waited until he heard the bathroom door close before he studied Orihime. “But what?”

She turned to him and took a step closer, just in case, before she spoke. “But I think we need Urahara. Not only to evaluate the state of my spiritual pressure, but to talk about my new ability.”

“We need both of them, Orihime.” It made sense to have Isshin look her over, but also to see Urahara for the spiritual pressure thing. “I would see Urahara first. When is this gender revelation supposed to happen?”

“Not for another three weeks. I don’t want to wait that long before we talk to them, for sure.”

He shook his head. “You need to see Urahara immediately. Call Isshin and explain the circumstances and request to see him next week.”

Orihime nodded. “I’ll ask Isshin if he has any time tomorrow to come and visit me here, then. I think for the next couple of days I should take it very easy. I can feel that my spiritual pressure is weak. I need to replenish it.”

Ulquiorra knew about weakened spiritual pressure. He knew the only way to replenish it was to eat those who had spiritual pressure or rest. “I fell asleep in your quarters one time. I had been on patrol on the outskirts of Las Noches. I didn’t sleep as an Arrancar. It was unheard of for me to do so. I ate and I drank but never slept. You called me Ulquiorra-kun after I woke up.”

Orihime looked shocked at that. “I  _ did _ ? What was I thinking? There is nothing about you that makes me feel like I would have-- Oh wait. You said you were shorter then?” she wrinkled her nose a bit, anticipating his embarrassing answer.

“One hundred and sixty-nine centimeters.”

Well, that was certainly a bit shorter than he was now, but still as tall as most of her male classmates, her own towering male friends notwithstanding. “Did you look younger as an Espada? Or ageless? I just can’t for the life of me imagine what I would have been thinking to call you -kun. -San, sure. -Sama, perhaps, if I was afraid of you, but you said I was never afraid.” She paused as she considered it. “I really called you Ulquiorra-kun?”

He nodded. Ulquiorra sighed and set the basket down on the island. “I’m not certain why you called me that. I must have appeared younger than my several centuries-old self.”

“That or I was just extremely awkward and had a raging crush on you. We may never know,” she said with a smile that was part sad, part sassy.

“I doubt I instilled warm feelings in you, Woman. One of these days we might find out.” Ulquiorra leaned over and kissed her temple. “Eat now; we can talk more while you take in nutrients.”

Orihime took a mouthful of food and hummed her appreciation as she chewed. “So,” she started after she swallowed and held another bite of rice in front of her mouth, “Were you shocked when I said that? Did you find me totally insolent?” She finished her question by stuffing her mouth full.

Ulquiorra shook his head. “I think you were going to touch my mask fragment. I woke up. You said that ridiculous word. I told you to call me as you always have. I wasn’t sure what to think. After that day, you became bolder, more self assured. You slapped me. You defied me.”

Orihime narrowed her eyes. “Maybe I thought you had potential for rehabilitation.” She took a bite of the vegetables and chewed thoughtfully. After she swallowed, she said, “You know, I didn't have an easy childhood. I wasn’t very naive. I tried to be positive and I held on to some overly-innocent affectations, but I wasn’t fooling myself. I knew that there were bad people. I knew that Nnoitra was very bad. I would have never stood up to him; I had enough sense and self-preservation to know better.” She took a drink of water before meeting his eyes. “If I defied and slapped you, I must have seen something in you that I did not see in the others.”

“You seem to forget that I knew everything you were doing before I took you. I knew that you prayed to your brother every night. I knew that you cooked weird food. I knew that you worried about Kurosaki’s and Kuchiki’s behaviors towards each other. Maybe that’s why I tried...” Ulquiorra sighed and shook his head again.

“That’s why you tried what?” she asked, letting her chopsticks lower to her plate.

He remained tightlipped. Ulquiorra didn’t want to trigger an episode. “You don’t remember so why should we talk about this?”

Her shoulders dropped before her face fell. She didn't feel very hungry, pushing her plate back slightly and focusing on her water as she took a long drink. When the bottle was empty, she set it down and shrugged. “I want to remember,” was all she said before picking up her plate and bringing it toward the sink. She set about getting containers to put the leftovers into with her back to him. He didn't deserve to see how hurt she felt. She was sure he didn't mean it.

“Woman,” Ulquiorra said. He stood up and moved behind her. His arms went around her waist, making sure there was little room between their bodies. “It’s too soon. I do not want to put you through another stressful episode.”

“I know,” she sighed, leaning back into him. “It’s just, not knowing is stressing me out, too. I think I could live without knowing if I didn't remember anything at all. But knowing that it’s just you that I can’t remember… It makes me feel like I’m constantly forgetting something. Something important. It gives me anxiety.”

Ulquiorra used a hand to move her hair away from her neck and placed a kiss there. He stayed that way for several moments. “You know me now. The present is more important than the past.”

“I know. I know that very well,” she said as her hands came to lay atop his over her belly. “But the part of my mind that is in a cage wants to get out. I just don’t know how to unlock it.” She turned in his arms and kissed him. “But I do know how to shut it up for awhile,” she said with a smile as she lowered back down on her heels.

“Are you trying to tempt me, Orihime? I would indulge you, but I must see to my duties of having a conversation with our daughter,” he stated before kissing her again. Ulquiorra moved his hands under the t-shirt Eriko had packed for Orihime in that bag they brought to the hospital. “I promised you tonight, after the children are asleep, I will make your body surrender to me.”

Her eyelids fluttered closed as she breathed heavily through a smile. “You keep talking like that. Just… You better go now.” She blushed, biting her lower lip and placing her palms on his chest. Her body was already surrendering to him.

He chuckled in a seductive way before letting her go. “Eat, I do not want to see you waste away. Three needs the nourishment. After you are done, fold the clothes and call Kazui down to carry it up. If you wish, I can run you a bath and we can retire to our room.”

Orihime made an unintelligent sounding laugh. She couldn’t take her eyes off his lips. “Alright, you’re the boss,” she finally murmured. She was hungry again anyway.


	36. Chapter 36

Ulquiorra knocked on Eriko’s door. He waited for the girl to answer. When she did, he entered the room and closed the door behind him. “Child.”

“Parent,” she answered with. It had always been a thing of theirs to do. It always happened when Ulquiorra tucked her into bed.

Lately though, Eriko didn’t want to be tucked in. Ulquiorra hadn’t done that activity since March. He frowned as he looked at her sitting on her bed. He hadn’t spent a lot of one on one time with her. He would have to change that. “If you are willing, I would like to hear about your adventure.”

Eriko frowned and grabbed her comb. Ulquiorra knew that there would be no tangles in her hair. She was nervous and uncomfortable.

“Um,” she said, putting the comb down and standing up. Eriko then got to her knees and folded herself in half, her forehead almost touching the floor. “I apologize, Dad.”

“Stand. There is nothing to apologize for, Eriko.” Ulquiorra reached down and pulled the girl up, depositing her back on her bed. “If anyone has to apologize, it’s me. I let you down,” he said as he sat in her desk chair. “Eriko, when I first met your mother, I wanted nothing to do with her. She wormed her way into my life, and eventually I accepted her into my bubble. I became comfortable with Yuko.”

“She said you owed her. What do you owe her? What did you do to her?”

  
It was one of those times where Ulquiorra wished he had that letter so he could show his daughter what he had done to the woman. “I didn’t… I failed to show emotion. I failed to fall for her manipulations. I made her work for my attention. I want to say I trained her to cater to my whims, but I had none. We would sit in silence and do our own thing. I would read. Yuko would play on her phone. At the end of the night, we slept close to each other, but that was as far as our activities went.”

“So if that’s all that happened, how did I come about?” Eriko said as she picked up that comb again.

“She drugged me,” Ulquiorra said, taking the comb from her and running it through her hair. He started at the ends and carefully brushed her thick hair, making sure there were no knots. He sectioned the hair into three equal parts. As he began to braid the hair into a simple plait, the man decided to speak again. “I was a willing participant in your conception after the drug took effect. I did not perform unwillingly. However, I did not realize until after Yuko was gone that I might have held some affection for her. It took me becoming intoxicated to have this dawn on me.”

Eriko finished braiding her own hair and secured the end with a band. “Yuko was a bad woman, Dad. I know this now. I thought she was going to take me to that themed cafe. I thought she wanted to be in my life.”

“Do you want to tell me what happened?”

She sighed. “Do I have to? I mean, I know you’re curious, but you’re going to get angry.”

“Becoming angry is subjective,” he said. 

“She’s dead anyway.”

Ulquiorra tilted his head and looked at his daughter. “What do you mean?”

“Riruka had to make comments about Yuko while Orihime was talking to her. Riruka said that Orihime was probably angry enough to kill Yuko,” Eriko replied.

“Eriko, I want to ask you a question.”

“You’re going to ask me if I meant to kill Yuko, right?”

Ulquiorra nodded silently and waited. Eriko was sometimes as stubborn as he was. Afterall, she was his daughter. After five minutes passed he said, “Please, I want to help you.”

Eriko looked at him and then Ulquiorra noticed the fingers on her hands were rubbing together. “Yes, I wanted to hurt her like she hurt me. I didn’t know the blast was going to kill her. All I felt was this anger and hatred that I’ve kept buried from the bullies and the fact she wasn’t around,” she said quietly.

“Are you okay with that? Were you okay with that?”

Her eyes were filling with tears. “At first, yeah. She was going to do horrible things to me. She cut my hair. The only thing I got to eat was onigiri and water. I’m so sick of it!” Eriko stated in an indignant tone. “She cut my hair. She took pictures of me with only my underwear on. I got scrubbed down with cold water because she couldn’t afford hot water. She slapped me--”

“What the fuck did you say?” Ulquiorra said, standing up. He did it so fast the chair tipped over and fell to the floor with a clatter. “Eriko, what did she do to you?”

“She was going to sell me. She was calling up men and was--”

“Stop, you need to… Goddammit!” Ulquiorra yelled. Frustration was coursing through his blood. Anger was seeping into him at alarming levels. He didn’t know how much hatred he could hold for a single person. There was no professional he could call up and make an appointment with because to the normal humans, there had been no wrong-doings. “I will be back. Would you like me to tuck you in?”

Eriko nodded and the two of them went through the same song and dance they used to do. Ulquiorra turned off the light and closed the door. He knew what he had promised Orihime, but it would have to be put on hold. When he found his woman he looked at her.

Orihime had heard the commotion from the girl’s room. She was only surprised that she had confessed the things that would infuriate her father so quickly. When her eyes found her boyfriend’s, she raised her brows in a sympathetic gesture before asking, “She told you, didn't she?”

“Not everything, but I want to find Yuko and I want to take the breath from her lungs,” he said.

Orihime nodded once. Under almost any circumstances, Orihime was against taking the life of another human. However, what Yuko had tried to do was so heinous, so inhuman, she could not deny Ulquiorra’s right as a father. “I’ll call Riruka.”

Orihime didn't wait for him to say anything, reaching for her phone and placing the call to the number that was still on her speed-dial list. Ulquiorra was able to hear her side of the conversation only.

“Riruka, it’s me. Yes. Is she--? When? Oh. Did anybody--? I see. Thank you. Goodnight.”

Orihime ended the call and looked at Ulquiorra. “She died an hour after I left. The coroner determined her cause of death as an accidental poisoning.” Orihime’s hands came up to her cheeks and she pressed on them as her jaw went slack and she looked off into the space above the bed. She had done it. She had killed another human. She didn't know how to feel about it. All she knew was that she did not regret it.

A huff left Ulquiorra. It figured the whore would deny him the pleasure of ending her life. At least Orihime had done it, though. She probably showed mercy. He would have made her death as slow and as painful as possible. “I know this may seem inappropriate, but thank you, Orihime.”

“You’re welcome,” she replied softly. “I just never thought…” Orihime stopped herself and shook her head. It wouldn’t do any good to agonize over it. It had been a pity. It had been unpleasant. She did not enjoy killing Yuko. She listed all these ideas to try to rationalize what she had done.

Oh God. She was a murderer. She covered her face and tried not to panic as the fact settled upon her. She controlled her heavy breathing as well as she could, but it wouldn’t stop the guilt or the sadness that crashed over her. 

She cried silently. She knew Yuko was horrible. She had hurt Eriko and Ulquiorra, and given the chance, she might do it again. She had needed to be stopped. But at what cost? Her cries grew more intense as she lamented her lost innocence. Yes, she had killed hollows, but Yuko had been a human being, just like her.

Well, not quite. Orihime was a human being with the powers of a god. That’s right; Yuko had been previously dead, and Orihime had given her a second chance at life. She tried to rationalize this; perhaps she was just restoring order to the universe by taking the whore’s life away again. Orihime had given her multiple chances to prove herself worthy of forgiveness and she came up short each time.

Still… was it within her rights to make the decision to kill Yuko? Orihime could not find an acceptable reason. She was going to have to live with this. She was going to have to learn to carry the burden of another’s death.

She finally uncovered her face and looked into Ulquiorra’s eyes and it occurred to her that he carried that burden, too. It gave her a small comfort, and she reached her hand to him. “Can you forgive me?” she whispered.

He saw all these emotions spread over her face. Ulquiorra didn’t know what she was talking about. Forgive her? What did he possibly need to forgive her for? “Woman, why do you need my forgiveness?”

She held her mouth open to alleviate some of the collapsed feeling in her throat, panting slowly, trying to keep a tentative control on her emotions. When she answered him, her voice rasped, “Because. I used to be good. Now…” Her throat closed again and her eyes swam. She couldn’t tell him she was no longer a good person. He must know, anyway.

“Orihime, you’ve always been good. You will always be good. If you hadn’t done that, I would have. You did this for a reason. Eriko… She regrets what she did.”

She knew he believed that. It gave her relief to know this. Still, this was something she was going to have to reconcile for herself and it would not be easy or quick. 

He was right about one thing, though. Eriko. She had done it for her daughter. She would do it all over again. She knew she would do it again. Did that make her bad?

No. It made her a mother.

She climbed toward her boyfriend and pulled at his shirt, trying to get closer. “I know. I don’t think this is supposed to be easy.”

“Orihime, I would have done the same thing, perhaps even worse things, to Yuko. I would have done the same thing if someone had taken Kazui,” Ulquiorra stated, hugging the woman tightly. “I know he doesn’t consider me a father. I cannot fill his father’s shoes, but I consider you Eriko’s mom. There is no one else.”

She kissed his cheek, drinking in the comfort he offered her, allowing his words to cushion her ache. “She is mine. I have to protect her. I _have_ to,” Orihime murmured. She wanted to talk about Ulquiorra’s statement about Kazui not seeing him as a father, but she didn't have the brain power to switch gears to that topic at the moment.

Ulquiorra held Orihime for a moment longer. “I’ll talk to Eriko some more tomorrow. I kind of flew off the handle about what she was telling me. Please, do not regret what you did. It doesn’t make you a bad person. What you did for Eriko… My admiration for you has grown. You are the woman I knew in Las Noches.”

“Thank you,” Orihime whispered. “Do you want to go to bed now? Are you going to work tomorrow?”

He nodded. “I think it’s best if I do not miss any more work this week. I might have Eriko stay home again. It depends on her mental status. Why do you ask?”

“I just think we all need rest. I know I have to prioritize Three and the pregnancy, but I worry about you, too. As for tomorrow, I’ll stay home another day, but maybe Eriko would like to come with me to the cafe if she is still not ready for school on Wednesday. She can make sure I rest enough.”

It was easy enough for Ulquiorra to scoop the woman up into his arms and carry her upstairs. He didn’t say anything as he did this. He was thinking. This entire debacle would have a lasting mark on both his girlfriend and his daughter. As he turned to close the bedroom door, he sighed and then just stood there.

“What is it?” Orihime asked, looking up at his face.

“There is no Soul Society therapist is there? What happened could traumatize both of you. I am worried that you or Eriko will not cope with the events that happened.”

Orihime thought about it and finally shook her head. “I know of no one who could be considered a therapist. I have met several shinigami who were excellent listeners and gave good advice. Vice-Captain Matsumoto was very helpful to me when I was just a bit older than Eriko. As for me, I think I’ll get through this alright. I’ll just need you to remind me from time to time why I did it.” 

He sat on the bed and then leaned over to kiss Orihime. “Woman, our children are why you did it. I still would like you to speak to someone about it. Taking a life changes you. As a hollow, I could kill and not be bothered. It’s very different as a human. I’ve thought about ending people’s lives, I found these thoughts disturbing. It was mainly Yuko, but still...”

She nodded. “I’ll talk to Isshin tomorrow. I know I can trust him. He is not always the best listener, but maybe he’ll know someone I can talk to. I used to talk to Ishida or…” she didn't want to bring up her late husband, but he had been a very good listener when they were getting along. “Anyway, I don’t think I want to talk to him about anything personal, maybe ever again.”

This was understandable. Ishida was a huge asshole as far as Ulquiorra was concerned. “Perhaps Yoruichi could provide insight? I need someone Eriko can trust,” he said. With a frown he stood up and started removing his clothes so that he could put on some sleeping attire. “Do you want to change clothes? Do you need anything?”

“I can make it to the restroom and back, but if you wouldn’t mind pulling a sleepshirt out of the dresser I would appreciate it. There is a water bottle on my side of the bed, I think,” she answered.

“I will make sure that you have everything you need,” Ulquiorra said. “Even fresh water.”

“I know. I know I can count on you,” she smiled at him as she spoke, and for a moment she didn't remember what happened the day before. She stood and left the room to prepare for bed and when she returned to the room she was still smiling. She was lucky, she thought. Damn lucky.

Ulquiorra was already sitting in bed, setting alarms so that he could wake up at an appropriate hour. He had laid the appropriate clothing out on Orihime’s side of the bed and retrieved another bottle of water for her. “I’ve decided to stay home tomorrow. I’ve already notified my boss. I also told them Eriko has the flu and will not be returning this week. The school will probably go into some kind of disinfecting cleaning mode.”

That made Orihime huff a chuckle. “Well, I can’t say I’m disappointed; I want all the time you can spend with us. And you’re right; Eri probably needs to talk to you again. I heard the emotions coming out of her room. She’ll want to know you’re alright. She worries about you.”

***

Eriko was tossing and turning in her bed. Nightmares from those days spent with Yuko were plaguing her. She had said nothing to her dad. Last night they were just bad. Tonight they were worse. She whimpered, kicking the blanket off of her bed. Why had she been so stupid and gone with the woman? Why was Eriko choking the life out of Yuko? 

No! That hadn’t happened. She had killed Yuko but she didn’t mean to do it!

She sat up with a small scream which she cut off by placing her hands over her mouth. Then she waited. The girl knew her father was an incredibly light sleeper. 

Orihime came into the girl’s room. She had been up already. She couldn’t sleep; every time she closed her eyes she was plagued with the memory of Belladonna spiraling her arm or images of things in Hueco Mundo that she could not recall upon waking. After she opened the door, she knocked on the frame to announce her arrival with a soft, “Eriko? Are you having a bad dream?”

“I’m sorry. I was trying to be quiet. I didn’t mean to be loud,” the girl said. She reached over and turned on her desk lamp. “I was having a dream… a nightmare.”

“That makes sense,” Orihime said as she took a seat at the foot of Eriko’s bed. “I was having them too. I have them… Anyway, it’s normal to have nightmares right after something like this happens. Do you want to talk about it?”

Eriko shook her head, whipping her braid back and forth. “I made Dad mad with what I told him. I don’t want to make anyone else mad.”

Orihime smiled at the girl. “Scoot over,” she said, pulling back the blankets and climbing into Eriko’s small bed with her. “He was not mad at you. We talked about it. He’s sorry about his reaction. It was just very shocking for him to hear about what that woman did to his little girl. He was angry at Yuko, not you,” she explained, patting Eriko’s shoulder.

“I keep dreaming about ways I killed Yuko. I just woke up from one where I was strangling her,” Eriko mumbled. “I didn’t mean to do it. I just... I wanted to hurt her.”

“I know you didn't, honey,” Orihime said in a soft, relaxed voice, still moving her palm up and down the girl’s upper arm. “Your instincts saved you. It’s natural for anyone to lash out when their safety is threatened. It’s how you survive. If you hadn’t done that, who knows what would have happened.”

Eriko sighed. “She told me what she was going to do. She told me what was going to happen. Yuko was evil. I just wished you would have left her dead.”

“She…” Orihime thought of Ulquiorra. She wasn’t sure whether it was right to tell Eriko about Yuko’s fate.

“What?”

“It’s up to you.”

The girl didn’t understand. What was up to her? “I know you did something to Yuko after I left. Riruka said you get really mad when people mess with your loved ones. What did you do? Did you bring her back from the dead to kill her?”

Orihime shook her head. “I spoke with her. I gave her a chance to explain. Her answers weren’t good.” The woman sighed and dropped her shoulder. “I say it’s up to you because I think you’re old enough to decide whether or not you want to know what happened.”

There was a nod. Eriko wanted to know. She wanted Yuko to pay for what she did to her. “I’ve never really had nightmares before. I don’t like them. I think if I knew what happened to Yuko, I could sleep easier.”

Another nod. “She’s dead, Eriko. I think... I think I poisoned her. Or I made her experience the effects of poison. She died two hours after we left.”   
  


Oh. The girl’s chest tightened and her breath hitched. A sob left Eriko and she started crying, turning her body towards Orihime. This woman must have loved her although Eriko wasn’t her child. “Thank—thank you.”

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry it had to happen. I couldn’t leave the possibility open for her to try that again.”

“It’s okay,” Eriko sniffled. “I understand. Thank you… for everything. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t apologize. It’s our job to protect you. It’s a privilege to be the woman who looks out for you, Eriko. I don’t regret what I had to do. I only regret not finding you sooner.” Orihime held her chin high and kept her voice steady. She wanted Eriko to believe that she had no doubts.

Eriko hugged Orihime. “You’re my mom,” she said quietly.

Orihime was speechless at first. Her arms came around the girl as her chin began to wobble a bit, and then the strong, sure facade she had crafted began to crumble. Ulquiorra’s daughter called Orihime her mom. The woman’s eyes stung and her chest felt heavy as the profound weight of the girl’s designation was bestowed upon her. “Thank you,” Orihime whispered through tears of her own, kissing the girl’s hair.

***

The next day Isshin was busy, but he said he would make time to see Orihime as soon as they could come to the clinic. This made Ulquiorra worry. He hovered over Orihime, not really letting her do anything. He just wanted to make sure that his lover and their child were okay.

When they arrived, Isshin checked Orihime’s vitals and talked to her about how she was feeling. She told him that she had been feeling better since the day before. Then he asked.

“What happened yesterday?”

Orihime closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “I, uh, I used a lot of spiritual pressure yesterday.”

“How much?”

“A lot. I used my shield to travel several kilometers at high speed. I brought someone back to life from the dead. And then I attacked someone. _Intensely_.” She explained what had happened as carefully as she could without giving away any details. She hoped he might be satisfied.

Her hopes were in vain. “Orihime-chan, are you in some kind of trouble?” her father-in-law’s voice was quiet and confidential in tone.

She sighed. “No, not anymore. Not about the thing with yesterday.” She looked out the window. “It had to do with Eriko’s mother. She took her to her place and didn't return her to Ulquiorra at the designated time. I went looking for her, and I found her with some bad people. Erioko’s alright, but I made sure this would be the last time.”

Isshin released a heavy breath through his nose. “Hime-chan…”

“I know,” she answered solemnly.

“You had to do it?”

A nod.

A heavy hand fell onto her shoulder. “We do what we must to protect our children. You did well.”

“Thank you,” came the whispered reply.

  
A few moments of silence followed as Isshin put his instruments away and sat in front of Orihime again. “I need you to see Kisuke. I’m not the best at measuring spiritual pressure, but I can feel that yours is not at your best levels. It’s probably not good for the baby. You up to driving, Cifer-san?”

He nodded, deciding on staying silent while Orihime answered questions. Ulquiorra felt responsible for what was happening to her. He allowed Eriko to go with that bitch and now his family was suffering for it. “I will do anything for Orihime,” he stated.

“I know you will,” Isshin said with a nod. “Let’s not waste any time. I don’t think your levels are critical, but I would say you are not in a good place, spiritually,” the doctor added, heading toward the door without waiting for the couple to follow.

“Well, you heard him,” Orihime said, smiling at Ulquiorra. She knew he felt unhappy. She didn't want him to blame himself, and she could tell that he was. “Let’s get this taken care of and then we can focus on our daughter, okay?”

“Do you need assistance?” Ulquiorra asked as he came over to her side. He couldn’t help but worry. Ever since he had impregnated her, he worried. “Eriko seems fine. She wanted to bounce off to school with Kazui, but I told her it would be better to stay at home and not rush back into things. I heard her scream last night. You weren’t in bed.”

Orhime allowed him to help her stand and blushed when he brought up her absence in the bedroom. “I’m sorry. I heard her and decided to sleep with her last night. She needed it.”

“You need rest. Eriko knows how to ask for assistance. She’s twelve years old,” Ulquiorra said to her. He offered her his arm as they left the room and the clinic. “Is she okay, or is she just putting on a front to appease me?”

“I think she’s recovering quickly, but she was deeply disturbed by what she did. She was dreaming about killing Yuko last night.”

A frown crossed his face. It was disturbing to hear about his daughter killing someone. She didn’t seem affected by it though. Then again… he was unaffected by deaths when he had ended lives as an Espada. Ulquiorra shook his head. “I should have never let her leave with Yuko. This is my fault. I caused this to happen.”

Orhime wrapped her arms around the one he had offered her. “You did what you thought was right at the time. All parents make decisions they wish they hadn’t. I’ve made more mistakes than I can count; and some of them were pretty bad. But you’re a really, _really_ good dad, Ulquiorra. Trust me.” She leaned into his arm to emphasize how much she leaned on him, as if she represented the entire family. “We would fall apart without you.”

Ulquiorra gave the woman a glance before he opened the car door for her. “I wouldn’t be here in the world of the living if it wasn’t for you, Orihime. I would still be in Hueco Mundo.” He gave her a kiss before letting her get into the car. “I really wish we didn’t have to see Urahara. I wish having spiritual pressure was a normal thing and there were doctors for it.”

Orihime laughed at that as he got into the driver’s seat. “Right? That would be much more convenient. But I have some questions for Urahara anyway,” she said, her voice getting low.

“Such as?” he asked giving her a curious look. “Are we going over there today unannounced or did you want to call him?”

She smiled. “Are you kidding? That old weirdo loves surprises. Besides, I don’t want him to go chasing a hypothesis down a rabbithole before I get there. I’d rather steer his ideas in the right direction before he gets stuck on some crazy notion. I need to talk to him about what I did to Yuko. I need him to tell me what it was.”

With a sigh, Ulquiorra started driving and he was headed in the direction of Urahara’s shoten.

***

“Ah! Hime-chan! Cifer-san!” the ex-shinigami beamed.

“This isn’t a social call, Urahara,” Ulquiorra muttered.

“It’s her spiritual pressure that we’re here about,” Isshin said as he came in a moment later.

“Among other things,” Orihime added.

The blond pulled a fan out of his sleeve and snapped it open. “Hmmm, yes, I see. You’ve almost depleted your spiritual pressure, Orihime. That could have disastrous consequences.”

Orihime pursed her lips in an expression of chagrin and nodded. “I know, it was a matter of life and death, though,” she said.

“You almost killed yourself,” Ulquiorra stated and looked at his woman. A huff of displeasure went through him. “Why isn’t she recovering?”

Urahara flapped the fan several times. “Cifer-san, Orihime-chan has an immense amount of spiritual pressure. She’s also growing a human, running a business, and raising a family.”

“Well, we could sit around wondering and doing nothing, or we can sit around wondering and replenish me? Is that something you can do, Urahara-san? I wouldn’t insist, but I’m worried about the baby. There is only so much I can eat.”

The man shook his head. “There’s nothing I can do. Sleep and eating are the only way to replenish it unless you went directly to the Soul Society and absorbed the reishi,” Urahara said. “Why did you allow yourself to become so low?”

“I was…” Orihime looked at Ulquiorra, unsure how much to tell Urahara. “I used a new power. I also used the old ones. I had a good reason. But, this new power; I would like to demonstrate it for you if I can, but I don’t know if it would be safe.”

“She killed Eriko’s mother. Eriko had killed Yuko first. Orihime brought her back to life because no child should have that on their conscience. Yuko was being a bitch and so unappreciative of what Orihime did for her, that Orihime lashed out.” Ulquiorra was tired of tiptoeing around people about this situation.

“No! That’s not why I did it!” Orihime was horrified by Ulquiorra’s characterization of her actions. “I did it because I knew if I let her live, she would come after Eriko again. She would come after you again,” she said, sounding somewhat frantic as she looked at her boyfriend. “She had no remorse. All she cared about was money and getting her way. She would sell Eriko to a pimp and then come after you for more money! I couldn’t let her have the opportunity. She had to be… Deactivated.” It was a strange word choice, but perhaps morbidly accurate.

Urahara’s gaze flicked between the couple. “Whatever the reason, you used too much of your power. You said that you have a new power Orihime?”

She nodded. “It’s not directly related to my Shun Shun Rikka, that I know. Um, maybe you have, like, an apple or something you wouldn’t mind parting with? After I have a glass of milk or something,” she qualified her proposed experiment. She didn't want to lose more spiritual pressure without replenishing it.

Tessai was there a few moments later with the drink Orihime requested and the piece of fruit. “Do you feel comfortable showing us up here or do you want to go to the bunker?”

“Let’s go to the bunker.”

Orihime guzzled her glass of milk and set the glass down before grabbing the apple and allowing the males to go down the ladder first. “I think it would be best if Ulquiorra could come out of his gigai and bring me down; I don’t want to fall off a ladder in my condition,” she suggested.

Ulquiorra sighed and looked at Orihime. “You could have told me this idea before coming here,” he said. He descended the ladder before Urahara touched his chest with the end of his cane. In a few seconds he was bone white and felt the snap of his wings. “Are you ready?” he called up to Orihime.

“Yes,” she called down, her eyes locked on his form. It was so strange, she thought, how immediately accepting and full of admiration she was of this form. She found it quite beautiful. “I’m ready.”

The former Espada nodded and took flight, grabbing onto the ladder at the last possible moment and folding his wings in as he climbed the thing. He stared at Orihime for a moment. “You are still not afraid of me?”

She shook her head with a small but bright smile. “Why would I be afraid? It’s you. Plus, you look like a dark angel like this.”

Ulquiorra made sure Orihime was secure in his arms and gave her small smile. “Does that mean you still find me attractive like this?” he joked.

“Well, yeah,” she mumbled, a bit embarrassed to have the other men possibly hear her.

He could have chuckled at her answer, but instead, Ulquiorra kissed Orihime. Then he jumped through the hole in the floor, letting them fall for half a second before he opened his wings.

Oh, they were going to have to do something like this again, sometime. It made her heart race in the best way. She held him tightly until they touched down and when her feet were on the ground she still did not let go for a couple of seconds, whispering to him, “That was exhilarating.”

“In the best way possible,” Ulquiorra murmured back to her. He kissed her temple before letting her go and giving the men that were watching a hard stare. “What?”

“I’m curious, Cifer,” Urahara said. “Do you have--”

“Would you like to keep breathing?”

“Right. Orihime? If you please, would you show us this power?”

“Do you have what?” she whispered to Ulquiorra.

Ulquiorra’s green eyes rolled. He turned away from the men and towards Orihime. “He wants to know if I have genitalia,” he answered.

Her brows rose in question as her eyes flashed down to his crotch.

Again his eyes rolled. “Later I will explain, unless you’d like me to murder Urahara.”

A snort and a nod later and she looked toward the others. “Um, I suggest everyone take cover behind some type of spiritual barrier; I don’t know how precise this is.”

“Tessai! If you please?”

The man spoke some words and did some complicated hand movements and a wall separated the men from the woman. Except Ulquiorra. He stood right next to her.

She looked at him with pinched brows. “I really think it would be safer if you joined them.”

“I’m not leaving your side. What if something happens to you?” Ulquiorra gave her a stern look. “I can defend myself.”

“No, I don’t think you could against this, not that I’d ever attack you, I just don’t really know how it works yet,” she said. “I don’t want to hurt you.”

Ulquiorra shook his head. “Please demonstrate these powers. I wish to see them.”

Orihime knew him. He was not going to let this go. “Please at least stand a bit to the side, just so I can focus.”

He moved about five paces behind her, folding his arms over his chest. Ulquiorra didn’t let his eyes leave Orihime’s form.

“Anytime you feel comfortable, Hime-chan!” Urahara spoke.

She nodded, walking forward about six or seven steps and setting the apple on the ground, then she walked back to where she had stood and imagined Yuko. She remembered those awful sentiments that soulless woman spewed just a day ago. Her spiritual pressure spiked, taking on an angry, bristling aura. Her hand seemed to rise on its own. She looked over her shoulder at Ulquiorra and nodded slightly, saying, “You’re safe,” before turning back to the apple.   
  


Ulquiorra’s eyes went wide as he looked at Orihime, moving into a position where he could defend himself if he needed to do so. There was a dark shimmery substance coming from her eyes. At first he thought it was makeup, but there was no way that mascara stained tears looked like vines. It was a dark purple and when she moved her head slightly it would flash green. “Orihime?” One of the vines moved towards him and Ulquiorra stopped breathing for a moment.

Orihime pointed her finger at the apple and uttered the same phrase she had used before she touched Yuko’s forehead. Her voice echoed supernaturally as she incanted, “Belladonna, I reject,” and the dark, iridescent tendrils that had writhed down her arms and explored the space around her, including the one that checked out Ulquiorra, focused into a twisted mass of tiny sprouts and shot out at the defenseless piece of fruit. What was surprising was, despite the speed and apparent force of the attack, the apple was unmoved and its surface unmarred. It wasn’t until Orihime dropped her hand a moment later and the phenomenon seemed to disappear that any change began to become apparent in the apple, its skin wrinkling as juice bubbled through rotting tears.

Orihime took a deep breath and carefully lowered her body down to the floor on her knees. “That’s it,” she said in a shaky voice once she caught her breath. “It’s done,” she looked at Ulquiorra and then the other men. Her eyes were back to normal.

The green-eyed creature approached Orihime in a cautious manner. He felt everything. That wasn’t Orihime’s spiritual pressure, though. As soon as he reached the redhead, he picked her up and carried her over to the men. Tessai and Urahara were engaged in an intense conversation. “She can poison things,” Ulquiorra said after he set her down on a flat rock.

Isshin’s brow knotted in concern. “You don’t poison things with your Shun Shun Rikka,” he stated. It was neither an accusation nor a question. He was stumped, obviously.

“Orihime, could you send an attack out that you would normally do? Tessai has a rock about the size of the apple.” Urahara said as he counted off ten paces and then set the rock down before coming behind the barrier again.

“You mean, like just have Tsubaki cut it?”

Urahara nodded. 

“Tsubaki,” Orhihime beckoned, not even bothering to move from her spot. The golden light streaked over to the rock and cut through it effortlessly before returning to the clip in her hair. “It’s not the same,” she said, as if that clarification was necessary.

Ulquiorra glared at the blond and then turned his attention back to Orihime. “What are you trying to prove?” he asked Urahara.

“I have a theory.”


	37. Chapter 37

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shinzo means heart, and is a common Japanese male name (Shinzo Abe is the current PM of JP as of 6/12/2020).

“A theory?” Ulquiorra stood up and let his wings snap open to their full wingspan. “What is this theory?”

“It’s not just me, is it?” Orihime asked. She knew. She just needed confirmation.

Urahara nodded. “You on your own are a powerful presence. Ulquiorra without the dampeners and holding himself back has an overwhelming power. It’s enough to kill people if unchecked.”

“This is from the baby, but I know it’s not actively doing it. It’s as if the baby’s spiritual gifts have been shared with me. Because we share my body, I am able to wield it.” It sounded a bit crazy when she said it out loud.

“I think your baby is trying to protect itself. You feel threatened, it feels threatened. You feel angry, it feels angry,” Urahara replied. He frowned. “You need to somehow keep your emotions in check, along with everything else you are doing. I know that seems like a lot but--”

“Why don’t you ask her to move mountains while you are at it,” Ulquiorra snapped. He turned and walked over to where his gigai lay. It took him no time to get back inside of it. “You are asking her to do something impossible,” he said when he sat up.

Orihime rolled her eyes and looked at Urahara like he was a simpleton. “Urahara-san, please know that I hold your knowledge and intellect in high regard, but are you stupid?”

“Of course, I am,” he said with a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. “What about my theory seems stupid?”

“Three is a seventeen week old fetus. His brain is just starting to develop. His major accomplishment this week would be something like making a sucking action. Whether he has any ability to detect anything at all is very, very questionable. However, it stands to reason that his innate abilities, something that would be written into his spiritual imprint or DNA, would be something that could pass between us. I was just telling Ulquiorra the other day about how fetal DNA stays with its mother for the rest of her life. Couldn’t also a spiritually gifted baby be able to involuntarily impart some of its ability to a spiritually strong mother?”

Urahara tapped his chin for a moment. “It’s possible, but without running tests, I wouldn’t be able to know for sure. Of course, we can always wait until the baby is born to do this. It would be safer.”

Ulquiorra could have hissed. “You will not be running any test on any of our children.”

Orihime scoffed. “You’re just being resistant because my theory is less romantic than yours. You don’t have to run tests to know that the Belladonna thing I just did wasn’t a fullbring, do you?” she said as she clumsily got to her feet and then crossed her arms under her breasts, looking at the scientist expectantly.

The ex-shinigami sighed. “That had a shikai feel to it, maybe--”

“Luppi could poison people--hollows. Loly could do it too. If Three has an ability...” Ulquiorra looked at Orihime with a worried expression on his face. This was all too much for him to comprehend.

“Does it really matter what classification the power is? Can we all agree that this is like-- It’s a zanpakuto. Arrancar have them. Shinigami have them. I still carry Kazui’s DNA in my blood. I wonder, had I had a need while I was pregnant with him, if I would have been able to tap into his power?” she pondered aloud. “It was dull times back then, though.” She held her chin between her thumb and finger and began to pace. “I know I don’t have a sword, but my understanding is that a zanpakuto is just a manifestation of part of a shinigami, vizard, or arrancar’s soul. So… maybe because of, I dunno,  _ reasons _ , Three and I are just compatible that way?”

Urahara shrugged. “Perhaps the part of Cifer’s soul that entered you has fused with yours. Three and you are one unit right now. You move and think as one. Perhaps this Belladonna is like a zanpakuto.”

“It feels like it to me,” she answered, turning her face to Ulquiorra. “What did it feel like when you held your zanpakuto?”

Ulquiorra studied Orihime for a moment. He missed Murcielago terribly sometimes. Being stuck in his second release just meant the sword was a part of him. “It felt as an extension of myself,” he answered quietly. “Is this what it felt like?”

She nodded. “It was as natural as breathing.”

“When did Kazui’s shinigami powers become apparent? There is no way--”

“Most young children don’t have powers,” Urahara said, interrupting. “They grow into them. They’re hungry all the time, but it’s more than just a growth spurt.”

“He was about three years old when he had a zanpakuto physically manifest. But, I mean, consider his parents,” she said, not bothering with modesty. Everyone present knew.

Ulquiorra thought about the information he was given. She was powerful. He was powerful when not in a Gigai. “Could our souls fuse together?” he asked in an absent tone.

Orihime’s brows rose at the idea as her sight moved from her lover, to Urahara, in question. It was Isshin who offered his opinion first, though.

“I’d think it’s possible,” he said, scratching his beard. Ichigo was a combination of me and Masaki; I don’t know if I’d call it fusion, but I wouldn’t rule it out.”

“But Kazui seems to have mostly taken after Ichigo,” Orihime countered. 

Ulquiorra looked at Orihime. “Does that mean Three will take after me?”

“I don’t think so, not necessarily, anyway.” Isshin answered. “You’ll have to wait and see. My children were all different; even the girls, who are twins, are vastly different, both genetically and spiritually.”

The green-eyed man sighed. “What can we do for her spiritual pressure? Is there any way we can build it up again?”

“I cannot return Kurosaki-dono to her natural levels, but I can supplement her with kido, if she has some time,” Tessai supplied.

“Do we have time, Orihime? If it would help,” Ulquiorra still had his eyes on her.

She nodded. “I’d like to get back to Eriko sooner than later, but I can stay a bit,” she agreed.

***

Two and a half weeks later, Orihime woke up the morning of her twenty-week check up and anatomy scan feeling excited. Both she and Ulquiorra had been waiting for this day since they found out she was pregnant. She wished she could really take her time and enjoy the day, but she had to be up early at the cafe bakery, getting baked goods ready for the Saturday morning rush.

She and Ulquiorra had hired several more part-time people and two nearly full-timers to work at Halcyon, and while the extra sets of hands were useful, it was a handful for Orihime and Ulquiorra, with the help of Satomi and Endo-san, to get the new people trained up. Orihime was very, very tired. She didn't sleep well at night and she was pushing the limits of her work restrictions. She looked down at her phone, expecting a call any minute from Ulquiorra to tell her to take a break.

Her phone lit up and she answered, pressing the speaker button. “Hello Darling, I was just about to sit down,” she said as she tapped some flour off of her hands in a clapping motion.

“Well, Kurosaki-san, I like you and everything, but I don’t think we have that kind of relationship yet,” a young man’s voice replied with an awkward laugh.

“Excuse me? Who is this?” Orihme answered, somewhat alarmed.

“I’m sorry, it’s me, Kitajima. The new delivery guy? I am supposed to come pick up the order for the Metro Hotel’s breakfast bar this morning and I was wondering if everything is ready.”

Orihime blew out a breath as she looked around. “I think so. If you get here early you can help me clean,” she said.

“Alright, I’ll be there in about ten minutes.”

***

Ulquiorra rode the train with Eriko and Kazui to the cafe. After he dropped the children off to help while he and Orihime went to this appointment, he would be in the cafe working until close. The past month had been draining on him mentally and physically. 

Eriko seemed to adjust okay to what happened. If she had more nightmares, she said nothing about it. 

Kazui went on as if life was normal. He was turning into a pretty decent cook, if Ulquiorra wanted to admit it. The kid fixed dishes that were flavorful but weird.

However, his problem was not the children. It was Orihime.

He never was a heavy sleeper. He never really dreamt. Orihime tossing and turning in bed or getting up at night was what woke him up. Ulquiorra would stay awake until she got back into bed. He kept blaming himself for this problem. The guilt of what happened to Eriko, and what Orihime had to do, sat heavily on his shoulders.

The redhead’s spiritual pressure hadn’t been fully restored. He had to keep reminding her to stop for a minute and think about herself. Orihime was selfless at times. It worried him. 

When they left the train station, he called her cell phone, wondering if she was taking a break, like she said she would, or if she had disregarded the doctor’s advice to her.

“Halcyon Cafe and Gifts, Orihime Kurosaki’s phone,” a youthful male voice answered Orihime’s phone in a soft volume.

“Uh,” Ulquiorra stuttered for a moment. He was not used to other people answering his woman’s phone. “Is Orihime there?” 

“Yeah, but she’s kind of… Hold on,” the sound of the phone being set down could be heard before the man’s voice returned, “Yeah, I think she’s asleep. Can I, uh, take a message, or…?”

Oh well that was a relief. “No, I’ll be there in a few moments,” Ulquiorra replied and hung up.

“Who was that, Dad?”

Ulquiorra looked at his daughter. “I think it was one of the new people who answered. Orihime’s asleep,” he said. He was trying to push away the feeling of jealousy that started creeping into his brain. The delivery guy and the other new employees they had hired had been checked out thoroughly, because Ulquiorra had not wanted another Yamada situation on his hands. He had no reason to feel jealous of anyone at the cafe. They were upstanding people as far as things had been uncovered. “Come on. Stop dawdling, Kazui.”

The boy sped ahead of Ulquiorra and Eriko towards the cafe. “I’ll meet you there then, slowpokes,” he teased. Kazui knew this was a difficult time for his family, but he was determined to make the best of it. Eriko had been struggling ever since whatever happened with her mom. No one ever told him what had happened, and he had enough sense not to ask. Maybe when Eri was older he would ask her directly, but for now, with the way Ulquiorra and his mom tiptoed around and sighed heavily when her back was turned, he knew it was a topic he had better let lie. In the meantime, he knew that everyone was stretched to their limits. “I’ll make sure the newbs are on task!” he called back as he got too far ahead to converse with.

Ulquiorra had to smile at the boy. He was a good kid. Definitely a better kid than the one he had dealt with in March. It hadn’t been that long ago, almost six months. He watched as Eriko ran after him, yelling at him to wait up. What if she wasn’t adjusting well? What if she was just hiding her trauma?

As he walked up to the cafe, he sighed. He hoped that wasn’t the case, and wished once again for some kind of Soul Society therapist.

The man found his lover asleep in her office. She looked so uncomfortable, but she was actually asleep. The kind of sleeping that brought on dreams. He hated to wake her.

“Hey Cifer-san,” the new delivery driver said as he came around from the kitchen, still speaking softly. “Does she do this often? Is it a pregnant lady thing or what?”

Ulquiorra startled and turned around to see a man with orange hair. It was obviously dyed, but still it was a shock to see. “Excuse me? Who are you?”

“Ichiro Kitajima. You hired me, sir,” the kid answered with an easy smile. 

“Oh, but didn’t you have dark hair when I hired you?” Ulquiorra pointed to the man’s head. “I mean, I know we have a lax dress code here but...” He was unable to formulate a logical sentence. He could have sworn the kid had black or dark brown hair when he hired him.

The young man grimaced and scratched the back of his head. “Well, the truth is, my agency strongly advised that I use black hairspray during the interview process, and then after I’m hired to follow the rules of the company. Kurosaki-san’s hair is colored, and so is Satomi’s and Kazui’s, so I thought it would be okay. Should I change it?”

Indignation went through Ulquiorra. How dare this kid claim that Orihime dyed her hair! That had never been the case! His mouth formed a thin line. “Kitajima, neither Orihime nor Kazui color their hair. That’s natural. Your hair is fine, just do not dye it green or blue… Wild colors,” he explained. “And she does this sometimes. She’s supposed to take breaks.”

Ichiro blew out a breath and smiled at Ulquiorra. “Okay, good,” he said, then peered at Orihime’s sleeping form. “I thought she looked tired so I suggested she sit while I get the muffins in the oven and she just kinda…” he gestured toward her. “That was nearly an hour ago.”

The dark-haired man nodded. It was good she was getting some rest. “Is Satomi around yet? Orihime and I have an appointment.”

“She called and said she would be here in a couple minutes a bit ago; she might be here by now. I’ve been back here,” he answered, throwing another glance toward Orihime. “I’ve been making sure those cashiers keep it down.”

“Thank you, Kitajima. If you would, please go see if Satomi is here,” he stated and turned from the other man. He put his hand on Orihime’s shoulder. “Woman?”

A groan answered him before Orihime’s eyes squeezed shut and fluttered open. “Where-- Why am I at work?”

Ulquiorra smiled at her. “Because you left the comfort of our bed to come in at the crack of dawn and work on orders and make sweets,” he offered. “I’ve brought the kids to help out while we’re at the doctors.”

She leaned back and stretched. “Thank you,” she said and smiled. “That Kitajima-kun really stepped up today. Where did you find him?” she asked as she grabbed her purse and rubbed her eyes.

He shrugged. “He came from the same agency that the other two workers came from. Are you okay? He said you fell asleep. Orihime, you need to focus on getting rest at night instead of pacing the house.”

She sighed and put her hand in his elbow. “I’m sorry. I try to sleep, but I keep having dreams that wake me up. I don’t even remember them, but once I’m up, it’s like my body doesn’t want me to go back to sleep.”

“Is there some medication you could use that is safe for pregnancy?” Ulquiorra asked as he led her out of the office to the front of the shop. Sure enough, Satomi was there and had both children doing tasks. “Satomi-san, we should be back soon. Make sure Kaz and Eri stay in line, please.”

“Of course, Cifer-san. Take your time. Good luck, Orihime!”

“Thank you Satomi, be good, kids!”

The dyed-haired kid was near the entrance. “Oh, allow me,” he said, opening the door for his bosses and smiling. 

“Thanks for everything this morning, Kitajima-kun,” Orihime said, sparing him a smile and a nod of the head.

The delivery driver’s face turned pink as he returned the expression.

This made Ulquiorra scowl before he escorted Orihime out of the cafe and to the car. He was a gentleman and opened the car door for Orihime and helped her into the vehicle. He was trying to not let jealousy overtake him. He couldn’t help it. Ulquiorra had been jealous when Kurosaki had come to Hueco Mundo and entered that tower where he had Orihime. It was his nature to try and defend what was his, and Orihime was his. “That kid seems nice,” he said as he got into the driver's seat.

She nodded. “He’s sweet. Very helpful and considerate,” she agreed.

He looked unimpressed as he drove off in the car. “Hopefully he’s not the Yamada kind of helpful.”

Orihime’s nostrils flared at that memory. “I should hope not, too,” she said, barely refraining from snarling. “I won’t tolerate it.” She exhaled slowly and let the sudden tension dissipate and then looked over at Ulquiorra. “He was really nothing like that though, I don’t know why you would make that connection.”

Perhaps it was his mind playing tricks on him. Maybe it was the fact this Kitajima looked an awful lot like her late husband, minus the naturally orange hair. Their initials were even the same. “I am wary of people; you know this.”

She gave him an appraising hum. “Some more than others,” she said with a half-smile as she put a hand on his thigh. She thought it was cute that he was getting snarly about the new guy. She decided to change the topic though. “So, today’s the big one, are you excited?”

“I am apprehensive about today,” he answered and glanced down at her hand before focusing his attention back on the street and traffic. “You seem excited.”

She was only mildly disappointed at his answer and gave his leg a small squeeze. “Of course I’m excited! Today we find out whether Three is a little Euvestes or Euvegenia.”

Ulquiorra’s head swung in her direction as he stopped at a light. “A what?”

She grinned at him. “You know, a little Frank or Francine. Paul or Paulina. Hans or Hansleen… Okay I made that last one up, but you get the picture.”

“I think we should name the baby Shinzo,” Ulquiorra said in a quiet voice. “Regardless if Three is a girl or a boy.”

“I’m sorry, no. I’m not going to let the poor girl get bullied for her name as well as her outstanding good looks, if she is a girl, thank you. But if Three is a boy…” Orihime’s eyes met Ulquiorra’s with a dreamy expression. “That is the perfect name,” she said, love dripping from her lips.

He rolled his eyes. “What is your suggestion then if Three is female?”

“Well, she’ll be born in the spring --technically the late winter if we’re going by the equinox but I go by the weather-- so we could call her Haruko or Harumi, something like that. I’ve always liked flower names, too.”

Ulquiorra considered the name. It would match Eriko’s name somewhat. “This is a satisfactory proposition,” he said. It was only moments later that he pulled into the parking lot near the hospital. “Is Ishida going to be doing this or someone else?”

“I think Ryuken Ishida will be there with an ultrasound technician and Isshin. They should be there when we arrive. I wonder if we’ll see Uryu Ishida,” she said.

The man bristled again, the jealousy boiling higher. “Why? Do you want to see that man? He tried to turn you against me, in case you forgot. He was in league with your husband to tamper with your memory, Orihime. I do not hope to see him.”

“Hey, look at me, Ulquiorra,” Orihime said with concern.

His green eyes moved until they saw her dark eyes. “Yes?”

“I don’t hope to see him. I was merely wondering if we would.” She tilted her head to the side. “This isn’t like you to snap at me. Are you alright?”

“I’m tired, Orihime. When you don’t sleep, I don’t sleep. I have to get up and go to school and teach bratty kids. I have to go to the cafe and keep up with that. Then I have to come home and deal with the children and I have to remind you to rest,” he said, ending his words with a heavy sigh. “I wish you would sleep more or at least stay in bed.”

She felt a lot of conflicting emotions at his admission. Guilt. Worry. Slight, tiny betrayal. “I’m sorry, Ulquiorra. I’ll stay in bed.” She didn't say he sounded like Ichigo after Kazui was born, but that’s what she was thinking.

He reached over and cupped her cheek. “I’m worried about you, Woman. That is all. Your face speaks louder than your voice at times.”

She leaned her face into his palm and closed her eyes. “I love you,” she said and let them have this quiet moment of peace before they left to go meet their baby.

Taking a moment, Ulquiorra pressed his lips against her mouth and then pulled back. “I love you. Are you ready?”

“Let’s go,” she said, opening her eyes and smiling at him.

As they entered the hospital, they saw no one that they recognized. The woman behind the registration desk was younger than the daffy old lady Ulquiorra had been greeted by when he came to confront Uryu Ishida months ago. They were just about to be shown to Ryuken’s office when Orihime heard a soft scoff. Something in the back of her mind told her not to turn around, but she did anyway, just in time to see a flash of Uryu Ishida’s glasses as he pushed them up the bridge of his nose and marched away without a greeting. She had seen his eyes move from her belly to her face and the start of a sneer form on his own before he turned away.

Whatever. He didn't matter. 

When the woman came back to escort them, she grasped Ulquiorra’s hand and entwined her fingers with his. “This is it!” she squeaked.

Ulquiorra had heard the Quincy. He ignored him. He was focused on Orihime and her enthusiasm as they walked to a different room. “Were you this excited with Kazui?” he asked. 

She shook her head. “I was more scared with Kazui. Now that I know what to expect, I’m not worried. Not as much, anyway,” she said, squeezing his hand. “You still worried?”

“Somewhat,” he replied. He was more concerned with Ishida ruining Orihime’s big day. “Today is your day.”

“No, it’s _ours_. This is us. Me, you, and Three.” She smiled at him. “Don’t discount your role in this. You’re the dad.” Her smile turned into a wide grin. It was moments like these that their connection felt especially tangible, and she was loving it.

He chuckled. “You did most of the work,” he murmured to her. Ulquiorra kissed the back of her hand. At times he was impressed with how much he could feel for this woman. “Fine, it’s our day.”

She sighed happily as they were escorted into a room and Orihime was given a gown to change into and a specimen cup to fill. “Be right back,” she said, excusing herself from the room.

Isshin came in a moment later. “So, Cifer, today is the big day!” he said with a clap on his back. “So, what are you hoping for? Boy or girl?”

“A healthy child,” Ulquiorra replied. “I think I want another girl, but I just want a healthy, normal child. Are you wishing for a certain sex?”

The older man shook his head. “The only thing I care about is the child’s health, too.”

Orihime returned to the room wearing the hospital gown with bare feet. She seemed much smaller than usual, apart from the belly. “Oh, hello, Isshin! Are we all ready?”

Ryuken and the technician arrived as she asked the question. “Yes, if you’ll get on the examination table we can begin,” the elder Ishida said dispassionately.

Orihime nodded and used Ulquiorra’s shoulder to steady her climb up to the exam table and ease her descent into a lying position. The technician put a sheet over her legs and pelvis and the pulled the gown up to expose her belly. 

“Aw,’ Isshin said softly as the protrusion came into view.

“Okay, this gel should be nice and warm, but let me know if the pressure is uncomfortable, Kurosaki-san. It may be unavoidable, but I’ll do my best,” the technician said, as a black screen came into view on two monitors in front of everyone that said “Baby Kurosaki - Due Date March 7, 2020”.

Everytime Orihime winced or made a strange noise, Ulquiorra wanted to grab her hand or punch the person who was doing this to her. Isshin had a hand on his shoulder and was assuring him it was normal. This procedure made things uncomfortable for women. He scowled as he looked at the monitor. It looked like a human. The outline was there. He could see hands and feet and a nose. 

The look on the technician’s face worried him though. She kept her mouth shut for the majority of the scan, take pictures and measurements. After a time she said, “The amniotic fluids look like they’re at good levels. Umbilical cord and placenta are normal. Did you want to know the baby’s sex?”

Orihime bit her lip and looked at Ulquiorra, nodding.

“Please,” he answered.

The tech smiled as she moved the wand slightly. “You see that?” It looked like three small appendages.

Orihime nodded.

“That center one is your baby’s testicles and penis. Congratulations, you’re having a very proud baby boy,” the tech chuckled. “His face is pretty cute, too. Ready for 3D?”

The smile that blossomed on Ulquiorra’s face was wide and he beamed at Orihime. Their child was no longer a number, but now he had a name. He was their heart. “Yes.” His girlfriend’s enthusiasm was finally catching up to him.

“Shinzo…” Orihime whispered as she tightened her grip on Ulquiorra’s hand; her chest tightening along with it. She nodded at the tech as she tried not to cry.

There was a bit of finagling and switching settings and adjusting angles; in the meantime the tech pointed out the little arms and shoulders and fingers, and finally she got to the baby’s face.

Orihime gasped. He was beautiful.

Oh. Oh… Oh. That’s the only thought running through Ulquiorra’s head at the moment. This was his son. He had created this person along with Orihime. It had been an unintentional move, but still, he didn’t regret it. “He’s...” the man managed to get out before becoming choked up.

“He’s perfect,” Orihime whispered, wiping tears from her eyes. 

Neither parent was able to tear their eyes away from the monitors after that, as the tech continued to take angles and pictures which printed off a machine attached to the monitors. “Don’t worry, you’ll get to take these home with you,” the woman mentioned as she started turning off the machine attached to the wand. “I’m going to talk to your physician and he’ll be right back to talk to you. In the meantime, these are yours,” the tech said, handing Ulquiorra the small stack of printed images before leading Isshin out of the room.

With the printouts in his hands, Ulquiorra stared at the image of the baby inside of Orihime. He then looked at her with sparkling eyes, full of adoration. “You are remarkable, Orihime.”

Orihime gave him a confused smile but accepted the compliment. “So are you, Ulquiorra.” She looked at the pictures and rubbed a hand over her still exposed belly. “So are you, Shinzo.” Fresh tears sprung from her eyes and she covered her mouth with one hand, laughing at herself. “I’m such a big baby. I knew he was a boy,” she added with a small smirk.

Ulquiorra helped the woman sit up. Once she was upright, he kissed her slowly, letting his hands trail down her body. “Yes, you did. Do you think Kazui will mind?”

“I’m sure he won’t. What about Eriko?” she asked, a bit dazed by his kiss.

“I have no clue. She hasn’t said much about the baby.”

Orihime nodded as there was a knock at the door. “I’m coming in,” Isshin’s voice called out.

Once he was in the room, he looked at the couple for a moment. There was a vague tension in his features. Finally, he said, “Congratulations. Did I hear that my new grandson’s name is Shinzo?”

Ulquiorra noticed his face. He stood in front of Orihime as if to shield her. “Yes, Shinzo Cifer. What is it, Isshin?”

Isshin pursed his lips and his eyes trailed to Orihime. “Well, Shinzo looks like he’s developing well; all his parts are in the right place and are in fine working order, he is just a bit small.” 

Orihime had been listening, expecting a “but” to follow. When none came, she began to worry. “What does that mean, Isshin?” she finally asked in a small voice.

“You need to rest more, Orihime. You need to eat and rest. You need less stress. Your blood pressure is too high. There are trace amounts of protein in your urine. I’m sorry, but you are going to have to stop working altogether.”

Orihime’s brows rose in protest, but Isshin shut it down quickly. “It’s the only way to guarantee your safety and Shinzo’s. I’m going to put you on a blood pressure medication, but if we can’t get it under control and keep it under control, it could become dangerous for Shinzo, but even worse for you. If you don’t get your blood pressure under control, there is a chance you will not survive the pregnancy, Orihime. This is serious.”

Ulquiorra knew this was bad. He had kept telling her to rest; to relax. She swore she had everything under control. Everything was fine. He turned towards the woman with a stern expression on his face. “There will be no arguments about this. I do not want anything to happen to our son, but more importantly I do not want anything to happen to you. Kazui has already lost one parent. You must think of him, too.”

Her face crumpled. She knew it was her fault. She kept going, knowing that she was taking a risk, but counting on being able to power through this pregnancy as she had with Kazui’s. His was not as stressful, though. She had been a fool to think that because she was more emotionally mature, everything would take care of itself. “I’m sorry,” she whimpered as bitter tears clouded her eyes. “I promise, I’ll stop. I don’t care if we lose the cafe. I don’t care if we lose the money. I would never forgive myself if--” she couldn’t go on.

“I’m glad you see reason, Hime-chan. I’m sorry to give you this news, but it’s important. I’ll write you a prescription you can fill here at the hospital. You’ll need to have your blood pressure checked regularly. I can stop by every couple of days if you like, but I don’t want you to leave the house. A walk around the garden is fine, but no shopping, no lifting, no working. Do you hear me?”

The woman nodded and sniffled.

Ulquiorra sighed. It would do no good to get frustrated at Orihime for this. He shook his head. “She will abide by your demands. We will figure it out, Isshin.”

“Good. Let me know if I can help in any way, or if Yuzu-chan can lend a hand, I’m sure she’d be happy to,” Isshin said as he helped Orihime get wiped up.

“Are you okay, Orihime?” Ulquiorra asked. He knew she was upset.

She nodded and took his hand to help her stand as Isshin left the room. “Yes, I just feel guilty. I should have had my priorities straight. Shinzo’s life depends on it.”

He grumbled for a moment. “You shouldn’t have done what you did alone. Had you just called me I could have been there,” he said. Ulquiorra stared at her for a moment. “Your life is important to me.”

She regarded him for a moment before putting her arms around him. “Thank you. I promise to be better,” she whispered. The fact that he cared about her wellbeing made her care about it. “I’ll promise to stop disregarding myself.”

“Good. Would you like to go home or go to the cafe?”

“Let’s stop at the cafe and tell the kids the news,” she said with a growing smile as she took off the hospital gown and stepped into her pants.

Ulquiorra had to bite his lip and turn from her as she got redressed. The doctor at the Naruki City hospital said that if she went on full bed rest then there couldn’t be any sex. It could jeopardize things. “We can do that. You can pick the kids up and take them back home with you to help out. I’ll stay at the cafe and work. Is there a list of things to do?”

She nodded her agreement and answered, “Just keeping the new hires in line and answering questions.”

***

Eriko saw how happy Orihime looked. She saw her dad frowning. She wasn’t surprised as she and Kazui were ushered into the office. Her dad’s girlfriend had a big appointment today. They were going with Grandpa to the hospital for it. “Is everything okay?”

“Well, yes and no,” Orihime started. “Everything is okay and we have some exciting news, but first I have to tell you that my health is not good. I’m not going to be able to work or do anything much around the house until after the baby comes,” she explained with an apologetic expression.

Kazui was worried. “Are you going to be okay, Mom?”

“Yeah, Monkey, I just have to be careful.”

“This means you two and I are going to have to help your mother. We need to do our best so that she can rest,” Ulquiorra said.

Kazui looked at Eriko and nodded. “We can do that, right Eri?”

Eriko nodded. “We will and we can. Is your health not good because of--”

“We don’t know Eriko. It’s hard telling what caused this,” Ulquiorra said, interrupting the girl.

“It’s not good because of a lot of things. My blood pressure is too high. It’s a common complication of pregnancy, caused by any number of things. What’s important is not what caused it, but what I can do to prevent it from getting worse and harming me or the baby. Speaking of which…” Orihime’s face started to glow as she began to smile. “We have something good to tell you, too.” She looked at Ulquiorra. She wanted him to have the option of relaying the news about Shinzo’s sex and name.

Ulquiorra looked at her for a moment. He understood why she paused. “We found out if you two are going to have a new brother or sister today.”

“And?” Eriko asked.

“Do you want to tell them?” the green eyed man asked Orihime.

“You can,” she offered with a grin. “Or we can both do it on three.”

The man smirked before he leaned over to whisper in Orihime’s ear. He could tell she wanted them to share this news together. He couldn’t deny her this. “You tell them what we’re having and I’ll tell them his name. Deal?” he whispered to her. 

She nodded, the apples of her cheeks turning pink under the pressure of her grin. “You two are going to have a new baby brother!” she squealed joyfully, looking into the wide eyes of the children. They did not immediately react.

“His name will be Shinzo,” Ulquiorra added.

It was silent in the office for another moment. Eriko looked at Kazui and then back at their parents. “So I’m going to be the only girl?”

“Well, no, it’s you and me,” Orihime argued. “Two against three, I guess,” she chuckled.

“No, I mean after he’s born you’re going to stop having kids,” Eriko said. 

Ulquiorra sighed and then glared at the girl. “Do you have a problem with us having more children?”

Eriko’s head shook back and forth. “Our house is small. I don’t think that you two should do this again.”

Orihime laughed. “Don’t worry about it, Sweetheart. We’ll take things one baby at a time, okay? Besides, you sound like a little old lady saying things like that. Next you’ll suggest we take up a wholesome hobby, like checkers or something.”

Ulquiorra had to stifle a laugh. His girlfriend just schooled his daughter by subtly telling her to mind her business. “Okay, you two get your stuff. I’m going to give Satomi some directions.”

When the children scampered out of the office, Ulquiorra looked at his woman. “You’re remarkable and you’re taking this whole thing rather well.”

Orihime sighed heavily but smiled at him. “Thank you. I just realized that I have no choice. When you don’t have a choice you can either resign yourself to your fate, or fight for no reason and lose. I don’t want to lose. I can’t lose. I need to protect Shinzo. I need to stay healthy. There is nothing else to consider.”

He reached out and put his hands on her hips and drew her closer to him. “That is good. Perhaps with this mindset, I’ll let you have some treats.” Ulquiorra kissed Orihime slowly, letting his hands stroke her back gently.

“Oh? What kind of treats?” she asked with a raised brow after the kiss was broken. “You’ve got my attention.”

A small smirk spread over his mouth. Ulquiorra flashed his eyebrows at Orihime then gently grabbed her ass. “The kind which involves us in bed without clothes. I know the doctor said we couldn’t do that but… I’m sure with careful planning I can bring us both to a pinnacle of pleasure.”

She whined softly. “Is it time to go home yet?”

“Soon.”


	38. Chapter 38

Their new lifestyle was not easy on any of them. Orihime had read every book in the house. She had done all the sewing. She had done all the jobs she could do with her feet up. She took walks around the garden. She planned meals she couldn’t shop for or cook. She was getting stir-crazy.

Yuzu came over a couple times a week to keep her company and get her mind off of her confinement, but by the time she and her three young children left, the house was a mess and there was nothing she could do but look at it until one of the kids came home. Then she felt sorry for the kids. They still had school and studying to do, and they helped out at the shop. They didn't need extra chores on top of the ones they had already been allocated.

Ulquiorra was out late every night, staying at least an hour after close to make sure the cafe was ready to run as smoothly as possible the next day. He was looking worn-down. Orihime did not blame him for being tired and untalkative when he got home most nights. Plus, after he finally ate and sat down, he had lessons to plan and assignments to grade. It was wearing on him.

She finally had enough about ten days after Shinzo’s ultrasound, and decided to enlist some help.

“Halcyon Cafe and Gifts, this is Kitajima, how can I help you?”

“Oh, just the person I wanted to talk to,” Orihime said sweetly. “Listen, uh, Ichiro-kun, I was wondering if you were running any deliveries into Naruki City today?”

The young man smiled. He liked Kurosaki-san. She was pretty and sweet and made him feel warm and confused, in a good way. “Um, yeah, I am going into Naruki City later this morning to deliver some cakes to the Hotel Gloria.”

“Oh, wonderful, that’s just near here. I don’t suppose I could send you on an errand since you’re in town? You could stop at my house and I could give you a list and some cash and you could do my shopping and bring it back here before you go back into Karakura. You’d get back well before Cifer-san or the kids get there. Unless you have a lot of other deliveries...”

“Oh, no, that should be fine,” the young man interrupted. “Whatever you want me to do, Kurosaki-san!”

“Thank you, Ichiro-kun. I’ll text you the address. What’s your cell phone number?”

***

The former Arrancar was exhausted. Between work and the cafe, his kids and the employees, Orihime and the baby… It was too much for him. All he wanted to do was rewind time to months ago before he had gotten Orihime pregnant. 

It wasn’t her fault.

She still wasn’t sleeping, which was disrupting his sleep schedule. She would huff and complain sometimes about being stuck in bed or on the sofa. She was bored. As much as Ulquiorra loved Orihime, she was quickly grating on his last nerve.

He didn’t get any free time to himself. He couldn’t take any time out of his day to just space out for a moment or two. He was constantly around people. It didn’t help that the two new employees in the shop thought he was a pushover. The two giggling women quickly learned how stern and strict Ulquiorra could be. Satomi had raised an eyebrow at his words to the newbies. Endo-san had laughed.

The old lady reminded him of Sato-san, laughing like a nut at gossip and drama.

That Kitajima guy seemed like a pain in his ass. The shock of orange hair, the brown eyes that sparkled with mischief, the skinny body… The guy looked too much like Ichigo Kurosaki. It made Ulquiorra uncomfortable. The man was a flirt, too; Kitajima was constantly smiling at the females around the cafe. 

He even smiled at Eriko, who would then blush and giggle. It made Ulquiorra roll his eyes.

After a trying day at school, where he had spent a long time in the teacher’s room scolding two boys after a fist fight, Ulquiorra just wanted to go home and relax. He called Satomi and told her that he wasn’t coming in. Satomi told him that Endo-san would be running the cafe because she had class. 

It figured.

He didn’t care. He needed a day off. Ulquiorra needed to relax for just one damn day. He got into his car, and instead of driving to Halcyon, the man headed towards Naruki City and his home. The kids were with Isshin. He always offered to take them one day a week, stating he’d bring them back later. 

That was usually when Eriko and Kazui arrived home hopped up on sugar and less-than-healthy food. 

Ulquiorra wasn’t one to deny the older man anything, though. He had accepted them into his family as if it were nothing. 

Thirty minutes passed by, and Ulquiorra found himself pulling into the driveway of his house. It took him about three minutes to sit there and take a deep breath and exhale all the bullshit of the day. It didn’t help. He was still keyed up.

In addition to the complaining that Orihime was sprinkling through the few hours he got at home, they weren’t having sex. Normally this wouldn’t bother Ulquiorra, but the emergency room doctor had told them what would happen if Orihime went on full bed rest. 

No sex.

They tried. Her blood pressure would rise. She would be tired. She’d feel faint. On and on the excuses went until Ulquiorra had just pushed the activities from his mind. He had to cater to Orihime. Her health was more important. She was carrying his son.

After two more minutes, he left the car and walked to the house, letting himself inside. The same thing happened as it did every night he came home; shoes off, set the bag down, strip off his coat and then walk down the hall to the kitchen. Usually he’d see Orihime on the couch, but today was different.

Orihime was standing at the sink and there was water running. “What are you doing?” he asked, giving her a concerned look. “Are you doing dishes? You’re not supposed to be up, Orihime!”

She hadn’t heard him come in and he startled her, causing her to whoop and turn around quickly, hand on her chest. “You scared me! What were you thinking sneaking up on me like that!? Are you trying to give me a heart attack?” Her other hand, the one not on her chest, held a glass of water. “I was thirsty.”

“I didn’t sneak up on you. I made the same noise I usually make when coming home,” Ulquiorra stated. His ire was rising. It was a simple explanation, but it irritated him. “Do I need to leave more water bottles by you before I leave for work?”

Orihime groaned. “No! I’m allowed to get up from time to time. It’s not good for me or the baby to just stay in one spot all day. I could get blood clots. Ulquiorra, I appreciate everything you are doing for me and Shinzo and our family but you have got to give me a little room to breathe.”

He scowled. “What do you mean exactly? How much room do you need? From what I understood, you’re not supposed to be on your feet for sustained periods of time. Had you just listened to the doctors the first time, it wouldn’t have come to this.”

Another groan. “I’m sorry, Ulquiorra. I’m sorry. I’ll apologize until the end of time, but I can’t change what I did. And I wasn’t on my feet for a sustained period of time. I just got up right before you spooked me.” She sighed. She could see the dark circles under his eyes and the way his posture was slacking. He was exhausted. “I think you need to rest more than I do right now.”

“Thanks for noticing. If you would actually sleep at night, I would sleep too.” He pulled out one of the stools that sat around the kitchen island and sat down. “I need a lot of things but I’m not going to get them.”

“Like what?” she asked, coming to stand on the opposite side of the island.

“I don’t know. Maybe five minutes to myself? A night of uninterrupted sleep?” He scoffed at himself. Ulquiorra was whining. That’s all he was doing. If he was whining he might as well go big. “A woman who would listen to medical officials about her health and the status of her baby.”

Orihime was rubbed the wrong way. “Oh, I’m sorry,  _ Ichigo _ . Do you need to find some dead guy to come change my memories so I would shut the hell up and sleep through the night? Because I think I might still have his card somewhere,” she scoffed. “Seriously? I  _ am _ taking their advice. I’ll go stay at my apartment if it bothers you so much.”

For a moment, Ulquiorra had a flash of anger go through him. How dare she compare him to her late husband. “I am a dead guy,” he said after opening his eyes and staring at her. “Just in case you’ve forgotten.” He stood up and walked out of the kitchen and to the stairs. If she wanted to go to her apartment, fine. Ulquiorra wasn’t going to stop her.

Orihime stood in the kitchen and drank her water slowly. She already regretted her words, but she needed to calm down before going to face Ulquiorra again. She could hear her heartbeat in her own ears and that feeling of pressure around her temples was back. She knew that if she took her blood pressure reading right now it would be high. She went to sit down on the sofa and got her phone out.

She had taken to playing turn-based word games on her phone. It started with Yuzu, and she had roped Satomi and Tatsuki and Isshin into it, but they weren’t very quick to take their turns. Her newest opponent was much more responsive. Ichiro Kitajima seemed to have lots of free time to do idle things like this. She played her turn, and he played his a couple minutes later, and she played one more before turning her phone off and looking at the stairs. After about twenty minutes had passed, it was time to go apologize.

She made her way up the stairs and opened the bedroom door silently, going into the room and sitting on the foot of the bed before saying quietly, “I’m sorry. I know this is hard for you. It’s hard for all of us, but especially you; you are taking on all the responsibility and it’s not fair.”

Ulquiorra had been laying there staring at the ceiling when she came in. He shifted his gaze towards the woman and sighed. “What else am I supposed to do? Hire more people? Quit teaching?”

“Don’t quit teaching. If it’s too much, we can decrease the hours of operation at the shop. They seem to be running things alright without either of us there during the daytime. Maybe we close at five instead of seven. It would get you home earlier,” she offered, her hand finding its way to his ankle and rubbing up to his knee and back down in a soothing way.

“That solves nothing. Are you going to sleep at night if we do that?” Ulquiorra asked. “Is it going to somehow fix what has happened to you?”

Her hand stopped moving and she sighed. “I don’t know.” She took a deep breath and decided to tell him what she could. She wasn’t protecting him anymore by keeping what little she knew from him. “I have nightmares. I don’t know how to stop them. I don’t know what they are showing me. All I know is I wake up terrified that something bad is going to happen to you and I don’t know what it is. I always feel like I’m forgetting something. It’s causing me anxiety.”

A heavy sigh left Ulquiorra. He knew about the nightmares. He could hear her cry out and whimper at night. He could feel her thrashing around. It needed to be fixed, but he wasn’t even sure if he could remedy this situation. With a huff, he pushed himself up until he was sitting on the bed. “Something bad did happen to me. Your late husband caused that to happen to me. Your late husband caused you to forget about me.”

She knew he was right, and despite his irritated tone, it touched a sympathetic place inside of her. “It was a cheap shot, what I said before. I’m ashamed of myself. You’re doing your best and I… I’m sorry I said it. You’d never--” she sighed. She didn't want to put it into words. Instead, she crawled up the bed and laid her head in his lap, facing his belly. “I know you’d never harm me like he did.”

Orihime took a deep breath before she continued. “I don’t want to sleep without you, but if you need a night or two to catch up on sleep, I can ask Kazui to do a sleepover at Halcyon with me for old time’s sake.” She put her hand on his side and stroked his ribs. She missed being physical with him. It hadn’t really been that long; only about two weeks, but they had been making love at least every other day, usually every day, since they moved in together, up until Eriko was taken. 

It was a comforting thing to feel her hands on him. She was right. She had used cheap words to try and hurt him. “I would never say anything like that to you, Orihime.”

“I’m sorry. It’s not an excuse, but I am spending too much time alone and unoccupied; it’s making me feel unlike myself. And…” she sighed, her hand coming down to rest on his hip, “I miss you. It’s making me irritable.”

“You think I’m not irritated by the circumstances? There was a reason why I wanted you to take care of this problem. I miss you. I miss making love to you. I miss the hours we would spend together,” Ulquiorra said. He brought a hand up and ran it through her hair. “Why do you think I came home today instead of working at the cafe?”

“Honestly?” She smiled up at his face. “I thought you needed a nap,” she said with a soft chuckle.

His mouth formed a thin line and he shook his head. “Are you saying I’m cranky?”

“No.” She shook her head and brought her hand around the front of his pants, running a nail along the seam on his fly gently. “I think you’re stressed. You need some relief, I think.”

A sharp breath was inhaled through his mouth before Ulquiorra swallowed. “You think? Woman, I do not want relief by myself. I want to share it with you.”

“Well, I’ll have to settle for closeness, but that doesn’t mean you do,” she said, unzipping his fly. “Just hold me and I’ll take care of you.” She pulled his cock out of the fly of his underwear and began to stroke it slowly.

A low and quiet moan left Ulquiorra. This was a first for him. Sure he had felt Orihime’s hands on him before, but she had never brought him to orgasm this way. “I miss being inside you, hearing you cry out for me.”

“Me too,” she whispered. “There is no greater pleasure for me; but hearing you say my name and watching your face as you come is a close second.”

The shocks of pleasure going up and down his body were helping him relax. He gave a content sigh as her fingers slipped over the head of his dick, the thumb brushing the underside. Ulquiorra had to bite his lip from moaning louder. “I want to make love to you. Badly. I hate that I can’t. I love seeing you come undone just as much,” he murmured.

“Me too. If you want, you can finish inside; it’s the orgasm and exertion I have to avoid, not you,” she explained, licking her thumb and bringing it back to the head of his dick, rubbing in small circles. “You look so hot like this.”

“It’s not fair,” he breathed. His head fell back and a groan left his throat. “Orihime.”

A pleased sigh. “That’s what I like to hear. Don’t hold back. Be selfish this time. This is for you. I love you,” she purred, stroking him more quickly now.

His hips moved on their own, establishing a rhythm with her hand. Ulquiorra brought his head up to look down at what his girlfriend was doing to him. He swallowed at her words. If he wanted to be selfish, he would already be inside of her, burying himself so deep and hard into her core that she wouldn’t be able to avoid the impending orgasm. “I’m going to come,” he said, glancing at her face.

She had an idea, since she hadn’t planned ahead and had nothing to catch his ejaculate with besides herself. She quickly slid off the side of the bed and knelt between his legs, pulling her shirt and bra over her head and looking up at him. “Is this okay?” she asked breathlessly as she brought her chest up to his cock, engulfing it between her tits and pressing them together as she kept manipulating the head of his dick.

Ulquiorra stopped breathing for a second as he watched her. Never had he imagined something like this happening. He let out a choked moan before he nodded. It didn’t take him long before he was whimpering as his skin moved against her chest. “Oh—“ He didn’t even get to warn her before he was coming.

She felt something hot hit her in the chin, then again on the cheek and the lips, then felt it drip down to her chest to meet the rest of his come that landed there in less powerful bursts. When the tension left his body and he seemed to slump back, she released him from her breasts and leaned back. “Thanks for the decoration,” she said with a sly smile. “I think it looks good on me,” she added, standing so he could see how his come had strung itself from her face to her body. Orihime seemed surprisingly pleased by this.

Another groan. Ulquiorra looked at the woman with heavy eyes. She looked obscene, but he wouldn’t say a word about it. “Thank you for the stress relief. I apologize that medical necessity keeps me from reciprocating,” he replied. “If it’s okay with you, I may take a nap. Everything that’s happened in the past month has caught up to me, I think.”

She pulled her shirt the rest of the way off and wiped herself off with it before leaning over and kissing his forehead. “Of course it’s okay. You’ve been busting your butt for us. You deserve it.” She smiled at him and squeezed his shoulders. “I’m serious about letting you catch up on sleep. If you don’t want me staying in the apartment, I could stay at Isshin’s for a day or two. I’m sorry I can’t control the nightmares.”

Ulquiorra grabbed her wrist and stared at Orihime. “Do not apologize. You cannot demand that your brain stop. I know humans have malfunctions in their brains all the time. I love you. I just wish...” He sighed. What did he wish exactly? “I wish you would rest more than you do.”

She sighed and kissed him again, this time on the lips. “I do… I do my best, anyway. I’ve been enlisting some help on the side, so that should please you,” she smiled at him. “I’ve been having the groceries delivered so the kids don’t have to go and can help more at home.” She turned to her dresser and took out a t-shirt and put it on. “I’ll let you rest. I love you.”

The green-eyed man smiled at her before he removed all of his clothes except the boxers he wore. Then Ulquiorra crawled into bed and under the covers. “I’m glad that you’re utilizing the delivery services,” he mumbled before drifting off to sleep.

***

It seemed that over the course of a week, the last of late summer gave way to a blustery autumn. It made it more attractive for Orihime to get under a blanket and be lazy. She was keeping off her feet much more to Ulquiorra’s satisfaction, and her nightly blood pressure readings were showing improvement as a result. Still, she was bored.

Her word game partners were a lifesaver to her, but it got dull. She found herself chatting with Kitajima more and more when he would deliver the groceries. She would have him put them all away for her and take down the dry laundry from the lines and bring them to her so she could fold them on the couch. Any excuse to keep him there, and keep her company, she seemed to use. He was easy to talk to. 

Still, he had a job to do, and always found aa reason to leave sooner than she would like. This week was the lead up to Eriko, Kazui, and Ulquiorra’s school culture festival, and they were all staying at school later and consumed with preparations. She was lonelier than ever. And despite Isshin’s promise to lend her a wheelchair so she could come and enjoy the festival, she was bummed out that she would not be able to participate like a normal mother.

The Thursday evening before the festival, she found herself without much of an appetite, only picking at the pasta that Kazui had prepared, not looking at anyone, and mumbling noncommittal responses to any questions sent her way. 

“Mom, are you okay?” the boy finally asked. “Is the carbonara no good?”

“Huh? What? No, it’s fine, Monkey,” Orihime answered, taking a bite to prove her point.

Ulquiorra had watched Orihime throughout the week. He noticed she had become… restless. He sighed before huffing in annoyance. “Really? You seem distracted Orihime.”

“I am distracted, sorry,” she admitted. “The pasta is delicious, though. I’m just jealous that you all get to work on the culture festival and I’m just a bump on a log,” she said with a smile, playing it off as something silly to be concerned with. “I remember my school culture festivals; I always loved them. Oh well. Next year I can go with Shinzo and see what you are doing on my own two feet!”

The man shook his head. “You’ve been a bump on a log since you’ve been on bed rest,” he muttered. Ulquiorra grabbed his plate and stood, his appetite gone. “I have papers and lessons to look over.”

Orihime scowled at him. Would he make up his damn mind? One day he wants her off her feet 24/7 and now he thinks she’s been too lazy? What the hell?

At that moment, her phone chimed, and her expression lifted into one of anticipation. “Could you pass me that, Eriko?” she asked cheerfully.

Eriko nodded and got up from the table to get Orihime’s phone. She saw the phone screen and glared slightly. She was talking to Kitajima-san? “Here you go,” the girl said. “Tell Ichiro I said hi.”

“What?” Ulquiorra snapped, turning to look at his daughter.

Orihime sighed. He was so dramatic sometimes. “I will next time I see him; this is just that word game everyone is playing. It’s my turn.”

Ulquiorra scowled. “Eriko and Kazui, go upstairs and do your homework.”

Eriko looked at her dad and didn’t say anything. She nodded and left her plate on the table before running upstairs. Kazui followed.

“What’s with you?” Orihime asked, genuinely surprised that he was reacting this way.

“What’s with me?” He asked. Ulquiorra shook his head in disgust. “I’m busting my ass and you’re sitting at home texting Ichiro Kitajima? He’s been distracted all week. He’s been practically absent from Halcyon. He constantly has a smile on his face and is on his phone when I see him.”

Orihime furrowed her brows. “I’m not texting him. I’m playing WordWise with him, and with Yuzu, and with Isshin, and with Satomi. I’m sorry he’s distracted. I’ll cut down the grocery deliveries to twice a week. I didn't realize it was affecting his work; sorry.” She was balancing feeling bad that Ulquiorra was having a hard time and offended that he was insinuating something. “You seem pleased that I was having him help out last week.” 

Ulquiorra sputtered with indignance. “He’s the one who has been delivering groceries? You told him my address? You let him into the house?” With each word, Ulquiorra’s voice got louder.

Orihime leaned back in response. “You knew that! I told you! And what’s the big deal that he knows the address? He’s our employee. I gave him a task; a task that I have been ordered not to do on my own. I thought I was helping by delegating to him.”

“Our employees shouldn’t know our address! Had you listened to the doctor the first fucking time, you wouldn’t be relegated to the fucking couch all day.” Ulquiorra knew he was angry. He was cursing and irritated. This wasn’t supposed to happen. It was the lack of sleep. It was the lack of sex. It was the lack of everything and having too much bullshit pushed onto his plate. “I thought you were using the store delivery service, not our delivery van.”

She tried to keep all the pressure he was under in perspective, but being shouted at scared her, and before she knew it, hot tears were streaking down her cheeks. “I don’t think our store has a delivery service,” she said in a small voice. She had other arguments to make, but they would have to wait until her reaction to his outburst died down; there was a large lump in her throat.

Ulquiorra sighed as he watched his girlfriend start crying. He hated shows of emotion like this. Orihime wasn’t sobbing or being frantic. It was just big tears rolling down her cheeks. She had done this to herself. She was the one that had invited a man that looked like her dead husband into his house. “You accused me of playing into Ai Yamada’s little tricks. What the fuck am I supposed to think when you invite someone who looks like Ichigo Kurosaki into my house?”

She looked around like she had lost something and then returned her eyes to his. “He doesn’t look like Ichigo, what are you talking about? Besides, he’s not pulling any tricks. He stops by for cash and a list, does the shopping, brings them back and puts them away. Then he goes back to Halcyon. I will make sure he understands not to play WordWise while he’s on the clock.”

“Really? We are their bosses, not their friends, Orihime. There should be no socialization beyond what is at work. You’re not working,” Ulquiorra stated.

She crossed her arms over her chest. “What is this, Las Noches? You’re going to keep me locked up in a tower with no one to talk to? Besides, I hope you don’t tell Satomi she’s not my friend. Yeah, it’s not the same as a normal friendship, but it’s more than just boss and worker with her. I trust her. And I play WordWise with her, too!”

Ulquiorra huffed again. “Perhaps I should be friends with our new employees who think I’m handsome. It would be different if Ichiro was a female. And don’t you dare bring up Las Noches! You don’t even remember that time. You don’t even remember me!”

That shut her up. She stood, staring at him, as her feeling of righteousness faltered. He could see it in her face as her brows twitched and her lip wobbled. Her posture became smaller and she finally looked away from him. “Okay,” she finally conceded. “I won’t ask him to do it anymore and I’ll tell him to play WordWise with Satomi.”

Ulquiorra rubbed his forehead. He was feeling angry and irritated. “That doesn’t excuse this, Orihime. You’re so wrapped up in this woe is me bullshit about being on bedrest and not being able to do anything that you’re missing the point. You shouldn’t have even started whatever this is with Kitajima!” He turned away from the woman. He needed to calm down.

“Are you insinuating that I’m carrying on something… Something… Do you think I  _ like  _ Kitajima-kun? That’s ridiculous. I have not “started” anything with him! He’s my employee. That’s all. He is friendly and easy to talk to but so is Endo-san. That’s all there is to it. I don’t appreciate your mistrust; I haven’t earned it.”

“Says the woman who accused me of the same thing of carrying on with an employee that I had no interest in. I will be speaking to Kitajima about this.”

“Fine, do it. But bear in mind, the situation is totally different. I watched her, on camera, put her hands all over you. Kitajima respects boundaries. He wouldn’t even be interested in me, I’m much too old, pregnant, and attached to you for him.”

Ulquiorra scoffed and then walked down the hall to get his bag that had his things in it. When he came back he practically threw it on the kitchen island. “I don’t know if he’s putting his hands on you. Perhaps he’s the reason why you’re not interested in having sex. I trust you completely, but this is unacceptable.”

Oh, that was unfair. She stormed over to him, fists balled at her sides, and hissed, “That’s  _ not _ fair! You know I want it but can’t have it. I’m trying my best not to think about it. What, do you want me to have a brain aneurysm and die? Because that’s a fun possibility!” She scoffed and stomped up the stairs, slamming the bedroom door behind her, avoiding eye contact with the kids as they peeked through their door cracks.

He stayed there for one minute before storming after Orihime. Those bedroom doors down the hall were shut tight as he opened his bedroom door. “We are not finished with this discussion, Woman.”

She sat on the side of the bed and stared at the floor. “What?”

“This is your fault. You did not listen to the doctor after he told you this could be a possibility. You had to keep going and going. Heaven forbid you take a break and think about yourself once in a while. Now this is affecting our entire family.” Ulquiorra had a severe expression on his face. His mouth was pulled into a frown. His brows were drawn together. 

She turned her face to him. “What do you want me to do, apologize for saving Eriko? Because I won’t. I would never regret doing that. I’m sorry about what’s happening, but we’ve talked about this over and over. I can’t change what’s already happened. All we can do is get through it. I know it's my fault.”

He had been expecting her to refute his claims, but when she admitted she was wrong, all the wind left his sails. His anger and rage at the subject drained out of him. “I’m not asking you to apologize for saving her. You should have asked for help instead of doing it alone. You should have recognized that you shouldn’t have done that by yourself. You almost killed yourself, Orihime. You almost killed our child. Had you taken a moment to think, you know I would have been there. What happens if we can’t get through this? Do I need to invade Soul Society and find this Tsukishima to help you find your memories so you can get a decent night’s sleep?”

She shook her head. He had it all wrong. “You think I just dove in without thinking? I thought about it. I thought about it hard. I thought it would be bad to let you take care of Yuko. You’d either burn through your gigai in a fit of rage or straight up murder her and potentially get caught. Humans are not allowed to kill other humans, no matter how bad the other one is. I thought about it. I decided to do it alone. I thought I could handle it. I miscalculated. Clearly I was wrong and made a mistake.” She sighed and looked at him again. “I don’t know anything about finding Tsukishima. Maybe it would help, but you can’t go and you know it.”

“I would go. I will go. I’m tired of all of this. I’m tired of the sleepless nights. I’m tired of hearing you cry out when you do sleep. You have no clue what you say when you’re asleep do you? How you plead with Ichigo to stop, or you beg me not to die.” Ulquiorra sighed and went to sit on the bed beside her. “I would have murdered Yuko, you’re absolutely right, but I would not have left any trace of her to find.”

“And you would have had to live with the strange guilt of killing your daughter’s mother. As much as she deserved it, it was something I didn't want you to have to bear,” she admitted, tapping her index fingers together.

Ulquiorra shook his head at her words. “You didn’t need to bear it either, Orihime. I’ve killed before, it’s nothing to me.”

“This would be different. You’re partially human now; maybe not how I am, but you are. Things are different.” She sighed and leaned against his arm, tired of being at odds with him. “You know I adore you, right? Even now that you-- Especially now that you are tired and cranky and working yourself to the bone? I’m sorry. I’m trying to do my best.”

He turned his head to look at Orihime, taking in how tired she looked. Defeated would be a good word for it. Maybe it was just her voice that sounded like that. He turned his body towards her, and lifted his hand to her face, making her look up at him. “I’m sorry. I love you. You have to know that.”

Before she could respond to him, Ulquiorra kissed her hard, pulling Orihime into his lap. “I’m sorry. If you remembered anything about Hueco Mundo, you’d know that I just want to eliminate anything that threatens my bond to you.”

“No one could,” she said, staring into his eyes. She really wished she could remember at that moment, but as she focused on the stunning green irises that looked down on her, all she could think about was how much he meant to her. It made her shudder, the idea that her actions could push him away from her, and the idea that Kitajima’s questionable resemblance to Ichigo could cause such a reaction from him. He needed to know. “I’m bonded to you for life, Ulquiorra. No one could take me away from you. Yours, remember?”

He gave her a nod before kissing her again. He pulled her even closer to him. “I know you don’t understand. I know you say that, but you were so in love with Kurosaki. He was going to take you from me.”

“That was then. Now you are the one I’m in love with. And even if Ichigo came back, I would remain in love with you. You are my now and my future. You are,” she paused and took his face in her hands. “You are the love of my life. Not him. Not anyone else. You.”

It was those words that broke his normally emotionless mask. He turned his head slightly to kiss the inside of Orihime’s wrist and then kissed her again. “Okay, I understand. I apologize for upsetting you.”

“I wish you knew. If you had any idea how much you mean to me, how much I need you…” She took a deep breath. “Do you want to get married? Would that help? I know we talked about it a bit, but we could just do it.”

“You still want to be eternally tied to me although I’m an asshole?”

She pursed her lips and laughed through her nostrils as she nodded, her eyes barely able to see with how her cheeks pressed the lids together. Of course he would ask something like that. It was comical to her. “I’m already eternally tied to you, doofus,” she said, pointing to her belly. “This would just be like, getting your license after you already bought the car.” She grinned then, breathing away the tension that had filled her earlier. “It’s more than that, though. We didn't exactly choose the baby, but we did choose each other. I want that to be forever,” she said, scratching the back of his neck gently.

“Mmmhmm,” he hummed enjoying the feel of her hands on him. It seemed like forever ago since they had been alone. “We need a holiday.”

“Oh? I’m interested in that idea. Where to?”

He didn’t answer as he buried his face into her neck. Ulquiorra was silent for a while. “Where do you want to go? Without the kids, by the way.”

She smoothed her hand against his hair, enjoying the intimate moment they’d created. “Hmm, maybe somewhere exotic. Okinawa? Guam? Oooh, or we could go somewhere cold and just stay inside most of the time. Go watch the cranes in Hokkaido or something. Or maybe just the inside of a hotel room in the next town over. Do you have any ideas?”

“Woman, I’ve barely have traveled in my entire human existence. You need the vacation, you pick.” Ulquiorra looked at her with a soft expression. “I apologize again, Orihime. I’m sorry I yelled at you.”

She kissed him. “Let’s not make it a habit, but I understand your frustration.” She put her arms around his neck and pulled him down with her onto the bed. “Now I understand why your students never step out of line. You can be scary,” she giggled.

Ulquiorra smirked before he stroked her pregnant abdomen. “It's still a shame that we can’t… you know,” he said. “I feel like I’m neglecting you.”

“Uh,” she said in a cautious tone, “I feel like I’m in a sexual time out. It sucks. After Shinzo is born and I get the all-clear from my doctor I’m going to kidnap you and lock you in a sex dungeon and make you pleasure me until I can’t see straight,” she chuckled, letting one of her hands trail down his back until she could reach his ass, then gave it a soft swat. “You’ll enjoy it, too, of course.”

“Woman, the moment you get the all clear from a doctor, I’m going to make you scream my name over and over. I’m going to make it so you cannot walk the next day.”

She purred out a low chuckle. “Something to look forward to. In the meantime, though, I need to make sure you don’t get out of practice,” she said as her hand dipped inside of the back of his pants and slid toward his front.

Ulquiorra chuckled before he pinned Orihime’s wrist down on the mattress. He moved so that he was between her legs. “What if you get out of practice?” he asked, dipping his head down and kissing her neck.

After he raised his head back up she looked at him with lowered eyelids and said, “I suppose you’ll have to train me back up to your satisfaction. Do you think you could do that, Cifer-sensei?”


	39. Chapter 39

Although Ulquiorra and Orihime had made up, he was still pissed off about the whole Kitajima thing. He waited until the following Saturday before he called the orange-haired male into his office… Well, Orihime’s office. 

This would be quick and hopefully the man would understand where his boss was coming from.

“You wanted to see me, Cifer-san?” Ichiro seemed entirely too cheerful.

Ulquiorra nodded and motioned for Kitajima to close the door. “I want you to leave Orihime alone.” No frills or pleasantries would be allowed for this.

The younger man stared at his boss with a blank expression for several moments, then raised a finger and opened his mouth to speak, then closed his mouth and lowered the finger. He repeated this action twice more before finally asking, “But, what if she asks me to do something? Should I refuse? Can’t she fire me?”

The green-eyed man’s head shook back and forth. “She most likely won’t be asking you for anything else. I’m the one in charge as long as Orihime is unavailable to work,” he replied. “You will also refrain from texting her or reaching out to her.”

Ichiro’s brows knit together and he nodded, but said, “So you know about WordWise?”

“Whatever it’s called. It will cease, do you understand?”

“Is it okay if I keep playing it with Satomi?” He was cute, but a bit of an idiot.

Ulquiorra looked at Kitajima with a mildly annoyed look. “I could not care less if you play with the Emperor. Unless Orihime specifically wants you to entertain her, you will leave her alone and do your job.”

“Oh,” he said, his posture and expression changing. “So it is okay if I talk to her as long as she’s into it? I wasn’t sure. I mean, I know you guys share the business and live together, but I wasn’t sure if you were a couple or if it was just some… weird… thing,” his nose wrinkled as he silently pondered the other possibilities. Maybe Ulquiorra was gay and they just wanted another kid. Maybe he was a live-in sperm donor. Who knew, these days.

This man was going to die. Ulquiorra’s head snapped up faster than it seemed possible and his hand reached for the other, feeling that small nodule in the web between his thumb and index finger. If he obliterated Karakura town with his spiritual pressure, so be it.

Orihime wouldn’t be happy about it.

That’s what stopped him from crushing the dampener. The thought of his woman stopped him from killing an entire town. Ulquiorra took a deep breath and counted to five. “Why would you say that? Everyone else knows we’re a couple. Does it not seem like we’re together? We’re having a child together!”

The orange-haired kid shifted uncomfortably. “I don’t know!” he whined. “The girls, I mean, Tomoko and Akemi, were talking about how you flirt with them and how they think you’ll ask one of them out soon. I mean, Satomi tells them that they’re idiots, and Endo-san laughs, but I don’t know…”

Ulquiorra laughed. It was rare to hear that sound from him, but he had to throw his head back and laugh. Oh, those stupid women. “Orihime is my girlfriend. I do not flirt with anyone. I do my job while being polite. If that is flirting, then those women need to think about who they allow into their lives.”

Kitajima tilted his head to the side and sucked in a long breath. “I don’t know, you stare sometimes. They think it means you want them. They are thirsty,” he said the last part under his breath. “Anyway, I’m sorry, I didn't know she was your girlfriend. I mean, you’re not married, but you’re having a baby… I didn’t think it was serious.”

The green-eyed man looked at the other one with a deadly gaze. “She is my girlfriend. It doesn’t matter if we are married or not. You will refrain from any flirting with her. You will not check her out. You will maintain a respectable distance from her even if she asks you to do something,” Ulquiorra stated. He appeared collected but underneath the surface he was nothing but a ball of rage. The paper that was in his hand was crumpled up into a wrinkled mess. “Otherwise I can put someone else on deliveries and you can be stuck in the kitchen.”

“Okay,” Ichiro said, not quite sure if it was the right thing to say. “I mean, I can do that.”

“Good. Please go about the rest of your tasks for today.”

The young man nodded and left the office without another word.

***

Eriko made sure Orihime was asleep before she pulled Kazui into her bedroom. “We need to talk,” she said to her best friend.

“What about?” Kazui asked. 

Eriko sighed. “We need to help your mom. What do you know about this Soul Society place?”

“A decent amount,” he replied, suddenly thoughtful as his chin rose a few degrees. It was rare that he was considered an expert on anything. “What do you want to know?”

Eriko put a finger to her lips, thinking. She had overheard her parents arguing the other day, and was somewhat mad at her dad for what he had said to the woman. “How do we get there?”

Kazui managed to raise a single brow. “I dunno,” he said, as if it was a stupid question for her to ask someone like him.

She sighed again then shook her head. He would be difficult. “Okay. My dad wants to go to this place to get that guy, right? Your mom can’t exactly go, and for some reason my dad can’t go. They need to fix this or nothing will get better. We should go for them.”

Kazui chewed on the insides of his cheeks for a minute, considering his options. Then it came to him. He hummed for a moment, and then his eyes widened and found Eriko’s with a grin as his fist came down on his palm. “I know who we can ask. Not only can she tell us how to get into Soul Society, but she can help you figure out how to use your… Your…” he gestured toward the space surrounding Eriko’s body, “Stuff.”

Her stuff? What was he talking about? “My what?” the girl asked, her brows coming together, looking very much like her father. “Why did you say it that way? 

“I mean your powers. Your spiritual pressure. I know you have it, but I don’t know what it is.”

Ohhhh. “My dad says I’m more Hollow… I don’t know what that means but… I’m not allowed to use them after I killed Yuko.”

“Well… There’s this place in Karakura. I have some friends who live there. They are like your dad, kinda. They don’t live in gigai, though. They just live in their spirit bodies. They know about hollow powers, they have them.”

“Are they those Vision people?” Eriko asked. She couldn’t remember the word for what her dad said they were called.

“Vizards, yeah,” he replied. “They have a place like Urahara’s underground. Nobody will be able to know if you’re practicing using your powers there.”

The girl bit her lip and dragged her teeth across the skin as she thought about it. “How long will this take? Dad’s talking about taking Mom--Orihime on some holiday. If they’re gone long enough, we can totally pull this off.”

Kazui nodded. “We should go visit Hiyori first. She is kind of crazy, but she is a fast teacher. You need to know how to do some basic stuff before we get to Soul Society, or you’ll get caught right away.”

“Like? Is it gonna hurt?”

The grin that split his face was of the evil variety as he chuckled. “It might,” he said in a knowing way.

Eriko scowled at Kazui and stuck her tongue out at him. “Can we go see her today or should we wait?”

“If we’re gonna do this, we should start now,” he said, already opening the door and heading for the steps. “I’m going into Karakura, Mom. I’m taking Eriko to visit Aunt Karin. She said she was going to help us with our soccer stuff,” he finished as he hit the bottom of the stairs and bounded toward the kitchen to grab some snacks to go.

“Oh?” This surprised the redhead, but she was truly too wiped out to care at the moment. “Say hi for me,” she called from the sofa. “Make sure you stop at the cafe and make sure Ulquiorra doesn’t need any help.”

Eriko stopped and looked at the redhead before she walked over to Orihime and hugged her. “Do you need anything before we leave or are you going to be okay?”

Orihime smiled at the girl and grabbed her forearm, stroking it for a moment. “No, sweetie, just make sure you have your phone on you and charged, okay?”

She nodded and pulled the phone from the pockets of her jeans. “I got it and it’s at ninety percent,” Eriko replied. “We’ll be back soon and we’ll stop by the cafe.”

“Okay. Give me a hug before you leave. You too, Monkey!”

Kazui came jogging into the room and put his arms around his mother’s neck from behind the sofa briefly and said, “Bye!” close to her ear before bounding out the door.

Eriko rolled her eyes before following after the boy.

***

“What the hell is this, Kazui? Who is that?” said a blonde woman with pigtails as she spied the boy coming down the stairs. Hiyori’s mouth was turned down as she stared at the kids.

“This is Eriko. She’s my best friend. She’s kind of a hollow, but kinda not. We want you to help us figure it out. Urahara said--” Kazui began.

“Oh god, not him. Urahara is dumb! She’s a hollow?” Hiyori hopped down from the rock she was sitting on and moved towards the girl. The green eyes were unsettling along with the blank expression. “HACHI!”

“Yes?” a somewhat muffled voice answered in a drawn-out response. The huge, humpty-dumpty-looking man with a broom bottom moustache came into view a moment later. He was enormous. “Oh, Kazui. What a pleasant surprise,” he said with a smile.

As soon as Eriko saw the man, her eyes opened wide and she backed up. The man was huge, and it scared her. Her bottom lip trembled as she made contact with the stairs and fell on her butt.

“Eri,” Kazui scolded as he hauled her up by the elbow. “That’s Hachi. He is harmless.”

The giant sat on the ground before the children. “It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Eri,” he said, bowing.

Her gaze flickered between the big man and Kazui. “Are--are you sure? I mean...”

“Oh get over it!” Hiyori said. “How the hell are you part hollow? You’re human.”

Eriko flinched at the loud woman’s words. “Uh, my dad… He’s… he’s… a former Espada?”

“Oh!” Hachi replied, sounding tickled by this information. “Such a nice girl with such formidable strength.” The large male muttered a quiet incantation, holding a few fingers in strange, symbolic positions, until a transparent box formed around the girl. Then his eyes lifted to hers and he smiled again. “Allow your spiritual pressure to expand freely, Eri-san. I want to measure it.”

The last time she had done that, she had killed her birth mother and almost ended the stranger’s life. Eriko thought back to that incident, feeling that darkness swell inside of her. It erupted from her body fast and hit the barrier, a dark green surrounding her body. The energy that surrounded her pulsed with her heartbeat as it tried to find a weakness in the walls. 

Hachi’s barrier was strong and pliant, expanding instead of breaking before returning to its original dimensions. “Oh, very interesting,” he commented with a serene tone. “Is there any more? Do you have a mask?”

“No,” she answered with a shake of her head. “Something weird happens though.”

“Show me. It’s safe within the barrier,” he assured her.

Looking at Kazui, Eriko shrugged. “I can’t--I need help to show you. Urahara touched me with his cane and I think… I think I left my body.”

That mischievous grin he sometimes employed to charm people without meaning to appeared on Kazui’s face as he pulled a badge out of his backpack. “I don’t think my dad will mind us borrowing his pass. It should still work,” he said, referring to the palm-sized object. He sat and pressed it to his own chest and his soul immediately sprung free, black robes billowing as it rose from his body. “Wanna try?”

When the girl hesitated, Hiyori rolled her eyes at her. “From what I’ve heard from Urahara, you’re supposed to be this confident kid, Eriko. Not that we talk to that ass a lot,” she stated, folding her arms over her chest.

“I don’t want to get anyone in trouble!” Eriko said with a scowl. She glared at the blonde and then grabbed the object from Kazui. “What do I do? Just put it on my chest?”

“Yeah, sit or lie down first so your body doesn’t get hurt,” he explained.

Eriko did as Kazui said and sat down. She pressed the pass against her chest, right where her heart was. Immediately she felt like she couldn’t breathe. It felt like she was clawing her way out of her body before she found herself standing next to Kazui, wearing white again. “I hate that,” she said to him.

“You get used to it,” he said, nudging her shoulder with his. “Now, should we start training right away? Do you know how to stand in the air?” Kazui asked before immediately executing the technique, showing off.

She followed him with her eyes, before looking at the two other people. “I have no clue what to do,” Eriko admitted.

“Can you manipulate your spiritual pressure, or have you no control of it, apart from release and retract?” Hachi asked.

“Uh, when I get mad or upset, it kind of lashes out I guess,” Eriko said. She looked at Kazui before looking back at the guy named Hachi. “No one has really told me anything about what I can do. I know that I killed someone with it though.”

Hachi closed his eyes and nodded without judgment. “This is good that you have learned how important it is to control yourself. Have you ever played with water from a hose, Eriko?”

“Not really. My dad says it’s wasteful.”

“But you understand the concept. You can control the flow and trajectory with the angle and pressure you use. Your spiritual pressure works in much the same way. If you are able to control the flow of water from a hose, you are able to control your spiritual pressure. Try it. I will make a barrier block in the air over there,” he said, and did it. “Try to hit it with your spiritual pressure. Don’t worry about breaking it, that won’t hurt me.”

She wasn’t really sure what this guy was talking about but Eriko nodded. She tried to channel the energy surrounding her into one arm. She had to really concentrate and it made her head hurt. The girl groaned and then dropped her arm. “It gives me a headache. Why can’t I just be like a nuclear bomb and just blast people?”

“Because they won’t be like humans; they can take it and dish it back,” Kazui warned her. “This is important, Eri. If we’re going to do this, you need to be able to handle yourself. At least the basics. Try again.”

Oh. “Okay.” She raised her arm again and focused, making sure her breathing was even and calm. She had to think of this like she thought of Kendo. She had to be disciplined. Feeling the power flow through her body, Eriko forced it to shoot out of the palm of her hand. It missed Hachi’s barrier. “Oops. Was I supposed to do that?”

“It was a nice try,” the large man said. “Try again.”

He wanted her to try again? That first move just about drained Eriko. She slumped down before shaking her head. “Does that normally take a lot out of you?” she asked.

“No. Maybe you should try your zanpakuto,” Kazui suggested, eyeing the blade at her side. “It might help direct things. You already know kendo. Use what you know to direct your energy. Here, I’ll show ya,” he said, pulling his own blade off of his back and slashing with it toward the box, calling out a phrase that wasn’t immediately recognizable. There was a flash of golden light and the box shattered.

“See? It’s easy. You just gotta aim,” the boy said, sheathing his sword.

Eriko shifted her body before grabbing the hilt of the sword with her right hand. It was joined by her left hand. Having the weapon in her hand felt somewhat comforting as she focused that energy. It seemed like Hachi built another box with a wave of his hand. It shattered just as quickly as Eriko swung and quietly pleaded with her soul to make this work.

“Nice!” Kazui crowed, pumping a fist in the air. “What did you say when you slashed? I couldn’t quite make it out.”

“I was asking Komori to obey me,” Eriko replied.

“Wow! You already know its name? Awesome!” Kazui said, punching her shoulder lightly.

Eriko scowled at him for a moment before she turned to the other two people. The blonde look worried. “What?”

“Hachi? What do you think?” Hiyori asked.

The huge Vizard shrugged. “She knows. Her father was an Espada. Her hollow power is likely more instinctual. It’s not like us; she wasn’t a shinigami first.” Hachi turned his attention to the girl. “When did your power manifest?”

“I can’t tell you!” Eriko squeaked. She turned bright red and frowned at the man.

“Oh c’mon what’s so embarrassing?” Hiyori complained. She turned to Kazui. “Do you know when her powers manifested?”

The boy kicked at the ground and mumbled, “Um, y’know, girl stuff…”

“Kazui!” Eriko turned redder and she pouted. “It started after puberty hit.”

“This is unsurprising,” Hachi said. He was not interested in uncovering the girl’s mysteries. He only wanted to help the kids out. “Do not worry, Hiyori-san. It seems to be a natural course. Eriko, I think you should practice air steps next, after you feel comfortable with your attacks. Why don’t you and Kazui practice a bit and then you can come back again and we can do the steps?”

“Wait! I have some questions,” Eriko said.

“What?” Hiyori asked.

“We need to get to Soul Society. How do we do that?”

The woman sighed and slapped her forehead. “Kazui? Does your mother know you’re here?”

“Ha ha, no,” the kid deadpanned.

“Why do you two need to go to Soul Society?”

Eriko looked at the ground for a moment before answering. “Our mom needs help. There’s a guy there and only he can undo some spell or something. My dad can’t go because the whole 'he’s the bad kind of spirit' issue.”

Kazui nodded. “Hiyori, you know you don’t really care. We just need to get in, find this guy, and get him to tell us how to reverse whatever effect he has on Mom, and get out. She’s having health problems and the doctor says it’s serious. And Dad can’t even sleep, and he is working all the time, so he can’t even think straight,” the boy argued, throwing the paternal title toward Ulquiorra without even considering what he was doing. As far as he was concerned, he and Eriko were fighting for their family’s wellbeing; the name was simply a descriptor of the relationship.

The green-eyed girl opened her mouth then closed it. She looked at Kazui and then beamed a smile at him. “We just want to help,” Eriko said.

“You can help by learning the basics,” Hiyori said. Pulling a flip phone out of her pocket of her jacket, she waved a hand at the kids. “Hachi, make sure they do what they need to do. I’m gonna ask dumbass if he has information on anything going on over there.”

Hachi nodded, turning toward the children again and started to explain the theory behind air-stepping.


	40. Chapter 40

“Happy Birthday, Ulquiorra,” Orihime murmured. It was a Sunday. The cafe was closed. She had let him sleep in until ten-thirty in the morning, assuming that he had heard her wake up in the night and not wanting to steal anymore rest from him. “You make thirty-five look peaceful,” she giggled.

Opening one green eye, Ulquiorra stared at the woman for a long moment before he pulled her closer to him. “What did you get me for my birthday, Woman? Anything special?”

“Er, no, nothing special. Just, um,” she blushed, hard.

That caught his attention and Ulquiorra opened his other eye. “What?” he asked. “What could possibly make my princess blush like that?”

Her hand snaked down to his crotch and began to stroke him over his pajama pants. “It’s, um, a sacrifice?” she chuckled, still a bit embarrassed. She had been playing with this idea for awhile and researched it, and thought she had finally come up with a compromise. She wouldn’t be able to perform this regularly, so maybe it was a bit special. “Do you need to use the bathroom or anything before I give it to you?”

Ulquiorra grabbed her wrist to stop her from continuing to tease him. “Of course I do. I just woke up and it’s hard to pee when I have an erection. Give me a moment to get cleaned up and such.” He slipped out of bed and went down to the bathroom, going through what he usually did in the morning. He decided to give himself a quick wash. Orihime was most likely going to give him head or a handjob. They were okay, but he missed having sex with Orihime. 

It took him less than ten minutes before he was back in their bedroom and in their bed.

“I sent the kids to the store while you were in there. I told them you were in the mood for donuts,” she laughed, scooting next to him under the blanket. She was already naked underneath, and her hand was warm as it touched his chest and made its way back down to where it had been minutes before. “I have a question, and I want you to be honest,” she whispered into his ear, nipping at it as she stroked him.

“Hmmm?” He hummed, enjoying what she was doing. Ulquiorra sighed with content and bit his lip as he felt a jolt of pleasure go up his body.

Her lips moved on the shell of his ear as she asked, “Which is your favorite sexual position?”

Ulquiorra’s brain shut down. His mouth went dry. He blinked as he stared at Orihime. “What?” he finally asked. “Why? We can’t have sex.”

She moved her head down from his ear, her lips kissing a line from his jaw down his neck, pausing to scratch her teeth on his clavicle, and then tasting his nipple before she raised her head and looked down at him. “We can’t how we usually like to do it, but if I’ve found a loophole. I won’t be able to come, or even allow myself to get excited, but it’s  _ your _ birthday, and I want to give this to you…” she trailed off, before kissing his other nipple, playing with it with her lips a bit.

His teeth dug into his bottom lip, trying to hold back a groan. It didn’t work. Just the thought of being inside Orihime was enough for Ulquiorra to want to flip her over and be inside of her. “That’s a terrible loophole, but,” he paused for a moment to think of her question, “I have no clue. I don’t have a favorite position with you. I just know I love being inside of you.”

She hummed thoughtfully as she kissed her way back up to his lips. She kissed him soundly for a minute and then pulled back. “I can’t be on top because it’s too strenuous, and if I’m on my back, I will probably get too turned on because I can see you and feel too much of you, so maybe on my knees is safest. Will that work for you, birthday boy?”

“Hnnngh,” he moaned, just thinking about it. Ulquiorra nodded. “Are you sure this is okay? I know I am going to feel bad because of the fact I can have an orgasm and you can’t.”

“You’ll just have to make it up to me later, my love. Let me do this for you? Please? It will make me so happy,” she pleaded, batting her lashes at him innocently.

Without warning, Ulquiorra sat up and kissed Orihime. He cupped her face so that she couldn’t move. It would make her happy. It would make him happy. He didn’t want to jeopardize her health though. “I love you, Orihime.” 

She beamed a smile at him, and her whole face lit up. “I love you too, Ulquiorra,” she said, still smiling. Her hand reached under her pillow and pulled out a tube. She didn't say anything, waiting for him to indicate his readiness.

His eyes went from Orihime’s face to the tube she had in her hand then back again. “What is this?” Ulquiorra asked.

“Lube,” she answered, still smiling. “It’s fun, but kinda messy.”

Ulquiorra had never had experience with the stuff. His brow furrowed as he took the stuff from her. His eyes quickly skimmed over the directions. Oh. But if they used this… “Why can’t I just normally do the things that make you wet? Is it the whole orgasm thing?”

“Yes, that and the arousal, if it’s too, uh, potent. I mean, there is only so much control I have over that; have you seen you?” She asked, biting her lip. “Anyway, I have to try to force myself to remain calm. That’s why I said it was a sacrifice,” she said with a chuckle.

“Are you certain about this?”

She grinned at him and nodded. She appeared much more excited than he was.

Well, if Orihime was sure about this, he wanted it too. He got to his knees and pushed the pajama pants he was wearing down his legs, letting them drop to the floor. His cock was already hard, standing up and ready for attention.

“Um, okay,” Orihime said, eyeing him up. She got to her knees on the bed and walked on them toward him and took the tube from him, squirting out a generous amount and reaching between her legs. She set the tube beside her and looked up at him with her eyes only and murmured, “It’s here if you need more,” then turned around and put her head down on her forearms, rear facing him. 

“Ready when you are,” she said, grinning although he couldn’t see it.

Did he need to be gentle with her? Did he just slide inside of her without warning? Ulquiorra’s brow furrowed as he stared at her ass and the position she was in. A shaky breath left him as he grabbed the base of his dick and moved it up and down against Orihime. Just feeling that sensation made his legs weak. “Woman,” he moaned.

She shivered despite herself at the first contact and at hearing his voice, her grin fell and her lips parted. She was going to have to think of something else, quick, or this was all going to fall apart. But not before she gave him a bit of encouragement. “Oh, Ulquiorra,” she moaned, moving her hips up and down marginally. “I’m waiting,” she purred, then bit her lip and tried to focus on meal planning.

Fuck. This was going to be over way too quickly. Ulquiorra bit his lip and grabbed Orihime’s hips, his fingers curling around her body. “Wait no more,” he murmured as he thrust into her and stilled his body. Waves of pleasure washed over him and he had to ride them out before he could move his hips.

Fuck. Fuck fuck fuck this was not supposed to feel this good. Damn it. What was in season? It was the start of December. Mikan were coming into season. She could make a dessert with those on Tuesday. Her thoughts were interrupted when her breath was forcefully expelled from her body. Shit. She gripped the sheets and hummed, trying to refocus on food. Right. Chicken went well with mikan, didn’t it? Sure. Oh! A salad with mikan and pomegranate and a vinaigrette sounded lovely. Not quite as good as the deep dicking she was receiving at the moment but nice, nonetheless...

The slide of his cock was slow and drawn out. Ulquiorra wanted to feel as much of her body as he could. This seemed like something that was going to happen once in a blue moon until Shinzo made an appearance. He was going to take everything Orihime could give him. As soon as half the head of his cock was visible, the man pushed into her again with some force, growling as he did so.

She heard it. God, why had she chosen the sexiest fucking being on the planet —no, on any plane of existence— to mate with? This was just unfair. The deck was stacked against her. Well, if menu planning wasn’t enough of a distraction, she’d have to double down. Yes… Oh, right. Chores. Housework she’d been avoiding due to her condition that was piling up. She, Ulquiorra, and Eriko had long hair. She could just imagine the monstrous hairball that lie in wait for her under the bathtub plug, or the rolled up mass that was likely bound around the vacuum grooming roller. Or the spot under the kitchen sink drain. Oh, and also the refrigerator drawers; some green onion stalks had gone bad and liquefied in one of them, she could bet no one had scrubbed that out yet. This time the groan that came out of her was one of disgust, although it was indistinguishable at the moment. This was good.

He wanted to take his time and make love to her, but hearing her vocalizations after such a long period of time was driving him crazy. He couldn’t think about how her body felt or how it looked as he moved in and out of her. Instead of moving his hips this time, Ulquiorra pulled Orihime towards him. Their bodies slapped together and he moaned. “Fuck, Orihime. You feel good, Woman,” he said as he continued to slide her body against him.

The list of unpleasant household duties was coming to an end, and her mind had wandered toward the unpleasant business of Halcyon’s quarterly accounting. She grew quiet as she wondered about profit and loss statements and asset and liability worksheets. She made a mental checklist about criteria for her next employee review, and squeaked a happy squeal when she realized Satomi was about to have her second anniversary as a Halcyon employee and was up for a modest raise. She hummed in satisfaction at the thought of such a good and loyal employee.

There was something about her cries that seemed off. Maybe Orihime wasn’t having fun. Maybe she was having sex with Kitajima and wasn’t interested in him anymore. She might have seemed eager, but maybe it was an act. With a sigh, Ulquiorra pulled out of Orihime and sat back.

“What? No! Come back!” Orihime cried out. Just when she had gotten this whole disengagement thing under control, he stopped. She knew he wasn’t finished. “Ulquiorra, please, I miss you,” she begged, looking over her shoulder at him.

“You do not seem into this. There’s something about your noises that is throwing me off. I do not like it,” he said with a shake of his head.

“I’ll be quiet, I’m sorry,” she said, her brows tenting with apology.

“That’s not it, Orihime. Your mind seems to be elsewhere. Are you...Is Kitajima your lover?” Ulquiorra asked, steeling himself for her answer.

She sat up on her hip and looked at him with a horrified expression. “What?! What would ever give you  _ that _ idea? Never in a million years!” Her lips curled and she was hit with a wave of nausea. “He’s just a kid!”

The man sighed and looked at Orihime. “You don’t seem into what I’m doing,” Ulquiorra replied.

After she shook off the shock of his question, she looked at him with a somewhat irritated expression. “I told you I couldn’t get into it. It’s a medical necessity that I  _ not _ get into it. It wasn’t easy, either! I had to think about housework and accounting to even get myself to calm down a bit.” She sighed. This was supposed to be his birthday gift; she didn't have a back up and it didn't seem like he was going to want to try again.

Rolling his eyes, Ulquiorra crossed his arms over his chest. “This won’t do. I can’t...If you’re not into it, how am I supposed to be into it?”

She sighed and flopped down into the mattress. “I guess you can’t,” she said, pressing the heels of her hands into her eyes. He was right, of course. She had banked on him being horny enough to be selfish. She should have known him better than that. “I guess I need to think of something else, then.”

Laying beside the woman, Ulquiorra stared up at the ceiling. “I mean, it felt good, but having you distracted isn’t how I want to have sex. If you cannot get into it, we just won’t do it.”

“I’m sorry,” she sighed, rolling into his body and draping an arm across him. “I ruined your birthday.”

Ulquiorra rolled over and kissed Orihime. “No you didn’t. Why would you think that? Orihime, yes, I miss having sex with you, but it’s not the end of the world.”

“I know it’s not, it’s just…” she sighed. “I’ve been stuck in the house and didn't get to shop for you, so that was kind of it. I’m sorry,” she said sincerely, before laying her cheek on his chest. “You’re not really in the mood for anything else, are you?”

“Not really. I’m enjoying this, though. Just you and me alone.” Ulquiorra moved some hair away from Orihime’s face. “Its okay. You didn’t need to celebrate my birthday. I never did before you came along.”

She drew a heart shape on his chest as she responded, “You mentioned it. I was hoping to start a new tradition, but I guess despite sending the older two out on an errand, one of the kids ultimately got in the way,” she chuckled and took his hand, laying it on her belly. “Your son is not being quiet about this either, oof,” she said, crossing her legs as the baby stretched out inside of her, pressing on her bladder and kicking out against Ulquiorra’s hand. Her eyes snapped to his and she giggled, “Well, I guess he wants to say happy birthday, too.” 

Feeling the jolt beneath his hand gave Ulquiorra much more satisfaction than having sex with his woman. Well, almost. His son was growing inside of her. It made him happy. He moved his hand up to cup her breast before kissing Orihime. “I accept the sentiment.”

***

Eriko slumped to the floor of the underground bunker, panting. She could do everything they put her through, but some things just wore her out. She could shoot Ceros from her fingers. She could focus all that dark energy through her zanpakuto into a nasty attack. She could do that thing where Kazui and Hiyori teleported.

She couldn’t flash step, since she wasn’t a shinigami. Her dad said it was called Sonido, then asked her why she wanted to know a couple weeks later.

Of course, Eriko didn’t answer him. She ran off with Kazui. She thought they were ready to go on this crazy mission to help Orihime. There was one little problem.

“We still need a way into this Soul Society. Hiyori said we can’t do that door thing,” Eriko stated.

Kazui scowled. “I remember something that my dad and uncles would talk about sometimes when they were drinking; something called a ginormous or gigantic or something? I dunno. Anyway, Urahara made one once, but they said Arracars can make them just by snapping their fingers or something silly like that. Maybe we can ask Urahara about it? Like what it’s called and how it works? My mom said they are really scary once, and Uncle Uryu said you have to run through using your own spiritual pressure as a foothold or you’ll die. They were trying to freak me and Ichika out, but still…” the boy trailed off with a visible shiver.

Eriko tapped her finger against her lip. Now that she thought about it, the tiny blonde woman said something about Yoruichi being a master at moving really fast with flash step. Maybe they would have to visit the candy shop. “Okay, so we go visit him. After we figure out this ginormous thing, then what? Do we just go? Do we wait for Mom and Dad to go on their weekend getaway? What about Grandpa?”

“I think it’s a good idea to wait. Maybe Grandpa can tell us what is going on in Soul Society. Then we can tell him we want to visit Yuzu and the kids and have a sleepover or something? He would say okay. Anyway, maybe I can ask Dad about the ginormous; like how he made it pop up. I can just make it seem like I’m curious. He knows I can’t do one.”

A smile came over Eriko’s face. She didn’t think twice about calling Orihime “Mom” or Isshin “Grandpa”. It was just something that came naturally to her because she had been accepted by them, although she wasn’t normal. Isshin had accepted her dad too. She poked Kazui in the side. “Dad, huh? I guess it’s better than Sensei.”

Kazui blushed and kicked at the floor a bit. He was still looking down when he responded, “Well, he's not  _ my _ dad. But he’s  _ our _ dad. You know?” He sighed. “It’s hard to explain.” He looked up and offered Eriko a small, embarrassed smile.

Awww, wasn’t he adorable. Eriko was glad she had met the boy that day in the cafe. He was sweet, kind, and very irritating, if she was being honest. “I can share my dad too, just like you share your mom. It’s our family. C’mon let’s see if Urahara has any unexpired candy.”

***

Urahara had been busy, and ignored the kids’ hints and attempts to learn from him on that Saturday. They had decided to give it a few days and try again. 

They still were visiting the Vizards at every opportunity, and now that the new hires their parents had trained were up to speed, they weren’t needed at the cafe very often anymore. Now they had more opportunity to do as they pleased after school. The Thursday after they struck out with Urahara, the kids decided to try again. It was the middle of December, and the sun set quite early; by the time they left school it already hung low in the sky, and by four-thirty the sun had fallen under the horizon as they walked through one of the more questionable Karakura neighborhoods. This made it hard for them to recognize the oddly-colored hair of the person who shouted, “Eriko? Kazui?! What are you two doing out here?”

The orange-haired boy whipped his head around and squinted. “Riruka?”

Eriko followed Kazui’s movements, and as soon as she recognized the woman, she shrank behind the boy. She still had flashbacks to the last time she had seen the woman. “What are you doing here?” she asked.

“Uh, I was here looking for a friend; we used to share an apartment around here, but I guess he’s not in town. Anyway, I’m glad I ran into you.” Riruka paused, twisting her lips and rocking back on her heels as she looked aside and said, “I’m sorry, Eriko. I’m really sorry about what happened to you. That was not cool.”

“Uh, forget about it. Please. I’m trying to do the same. It wasn’t your fault Yuko did that,” Eriko stated. She rubbed her fingers together, trying not to become emotional. “But, thank you.”

The woman’s lips stretched out into a thin line and she nodded with a hum in acknowledgment. “Well, I guess I’m wasting my time here. It seems like there really aren’t any Fullbringers left in Karakura, now that your mom isn’t here.”

Kazui’s eyebrows lifted. That’s right. Riruka was a Fullbringer like his mom.  _ Like Tsukishima _ . “Um, Riruka, speaking of Fullbringers, I have a question about Tsukishima.”

Right away the cranberry-haired woman’s palms flew up and she waved them with a sharp, “No, no way. Your mother would kill me.”

Kazui looked at Eriko. Maybe she would have better luck; she already had Riruka’s sympathy.

Knowing that look, Eriko sighed. “Riruka, we need help. We need answers. Our mom isn’t doing well. She’s stuck in bed all day because she almost lost our brother. She doesn’t sleep, and it’s affecting all of us. Please.” 

A thin eyebrow arched, and then a seemingly long-suffering sigh followed. “Ugh. Fine. What do you want to know about that skinny weirdo?”

“Who is he? My mom used to talk about him all the time,” Kazui asked.

“He’s a Fullbringer. His ability is quite interesting. He’s psychotic, and last I heard, he was in Soul Society.”

“From what we’ve overheard, he’s changed something about people’s memories. Is that his ability? What did he do to Orihime?”

Riruka rolled her eyes. “I don’t know!” she whined, then began to pace back and forth as she started to explain in spite of herself. “He has this sword, and it’s his Fullbring. His ability is called the Book of the End. It apparently allows him to insert himself as a character in someone’s memories at a given point in the past, and rewrites the memories from that moment forward to include himself to one degree or another. He did it to your mother when she was in high school, Kaz. He had her convinced that he was closer to her than your dad, and in fact, at one point, she stood up against your dad in his defense. Poor Ichigo. That almost broke him,” she shook her head at the memory.

“But that ended. How did it end that time?” Kazui asked.

“It wore off when your mom saw your dad crying. She had only been under the effect for something like two days, though. It hadn’t really cemented in her mind yet. But if what you two are saying is true, and he’s affected her memory again, then it’s been that way since at least the time Halcyon opened. She had been talking about him being places he wasn’t since at least then.”

Eriko shook her head. “No, Dad has said it’s been going on longer. I’ve heard him on the phone to Urahara. Years; since Kaz was little.”

Riruka’s face looked like she felt sick at the news. “That really, really sucks,” she said, sounding unhopeful. “I think the only thing that would reverse it at this point would be to bring him back here and have him stab her again, but that’s not happening.”

Eriko looked troubled upon hearing this. “Why not? Is he dead? Can’t someone bring him back to life?” She was starting to feel frantic with each piece of information they got.

Riruka didn't like uncertainty, and she really didn't like when people asked her questions that she didn't know the answers to. “I don’t know, Eriko!” she replied in a snotty tone. “Not that it would really matter, I guess. He’s in Soul Society, though. He could come back with or without a body, and last I knew, he still had his Fullbring. Anyway, that’s not the point. The points are one, rumor has it he’s being held by that mad fucking scientist in Seireitei, pardon my French, and two, HE IS CRAZY. He and Ginjo were like, attached at the hip, and they are both mean dudes who only care about themselves. Nobody in their right minds would voluntarily bring them back here.”

The woman’s tone had Eriko finding her backbone. She moved from behind Kazui and then stepped up to Riruka. “Look here! I don’t care if its crazy and I don’t care if I need to blast people out of my way! I’m gonna find out how to open a Gigantic and find this asshole!” the girl yelled.

Riruka’s hands found her hips and she pitched forward with a fit of laughter. After she was able to catch her breath, she asked, breathlessly, “Oh yeah? You and what army? It’s not like Urahara is going to open a senkaimon for you to traipse through into Soul Society anyway. And what the hell is a Gigantic--” 

This time her arms came around her belly as she squawked out mocking laughs. “A  _ Garganta? _ Who do you think you are, Grimmjow? I saw him rip the sky and make one once. That was badass. It’s like he just touched a spot in the sky and unlocked a black hole. I don’t think you know any arrancars that can pull that off, though, girlie.”

Eriko had the balls to point a finger into Riruka’s face. “Wrong! My dad is an Espada. He’s an Arrancar, and guess what that makes me.” She could feel that dark pressure start to build in her body again. It was anger, and if this bitchy woman thought she was playing around, Riruka would find out Eriko wasn’t.

The mirth washed off Riruka’s face as she felt the girl’s spiritual pressure darken and expand. She looked at the girl with a warning expression. “Eriko, you can’t just rip open a Garganta and walk through it; it’s super dangerous and you might not even make it through. I’m only saying this because you’re a kid and you don’t deserve the bullshit that has happened to you lately. You deserve to have a nice life. But _if_ you open a Garganta, one, you might open it to Hueco Mundo by mistake and get eaten by a horde of hollows, or more likely, B, you’ll just get lost inside of it. Promise me you won’t just go off and try it.”

The green-eyed girl looked at Kazui. “We can’t make that promise.”

Riruka sighed. “At least wait until you’re older and know what you’re doing, okay? I gotta run,” the woman said, looking down the dark street. “Don’t tell your parents you ran into me, okay? I’m sure they’re still mad about the whole me being a brat about the partnership thing.”

“Yeah, we’ll do that,” Kazui said, grabbing Eri’s hand and pulling her away.

As they left Riruka behind, Eriko wanted to sigh and stomp her feet to throw a fit. This whole thing sucked. “Now what do we do?” she asked the boy.

“Study,” he said, breaking into a jog and continuing toward Urahara’s.

Study? Kazui hated studying! “What are we supposed to study if no one will tell me anything! I can’t exactly ask Dad about this!”

He looked over his shoulder at Eriko with a grin. He knew Urahara better than she did. “Let me do the talking at first, Eri. I know how to get ol’ hat-n-clogs to gab.”

Eriko rolled her eyes but followed behind her best friend.


	41. Chapter 41

When Tessai told him that Eriko and Kazui were waiting for him, he sighed. Loudly. He looked at the black cat with his mouth set in a thin line. “They’re here for information,” he muttered.

“Hi Urahara-san, guess what?” Kazui asked with a wide grin.

Immediately the man’s face brightened up. “Hello Eri-chan! Hello Kazui! What a surprise that you two are here! Such a treat,” he said. Urahara was totally faking it, but those kids could be the future of the Shinigami one of these days.

“Yeah, well, maybe not. I wanna know about Arrancars. Eri thinks she knows everything about them since she is one, but I remember my dad and Uncle Renji bragging about how they fought them and how powerful they were and the Italian words they had for everything, like Sonico and Giganti,” Kazui boasted.

Urahara raised an eyebrow and looked at Eriko. She looked smug. “You mean Sonido and Garganta?” the blond man asked.

“Whatever,” Kazui said, eyes sparkling and thirsty for knowledge. “So is it true that Sonido is like flash step? Because Eri says it’s the same but I think it’s different.”

“It’s the Hollow version of a flash step. I could not say if it’s exactly the same. Yoruichi, would you say it’s about the same? I never asked Nel or Grimmjow what it was like when they did it,” Urahara said.

A scoff. “Oh, come  _ on _ . You can’t tell me you haven’t researched it. My dad told me you made a, Garganta? All by yourself. And Hiyori told me about how the hogyokus made her and Arrancars like they are. She never stops bragging.”

A heavy sigh left him and he glared at the cat who was just sleeping away and ignoring him. It was wonderful how his partner in crime could just employ a cat tactic of ignoring him whenever it suited her whims. “Fine, yes they’re exactly the same. With practice, you get better and faster at it. You really have to visualize where you’re going when you do it.”

“Is that how a Garganta works? Because Riruka said it was kind of like a black hole and could lead to anywhere, but that doesn’t make sense.”

“No, you have to visualize where you want to go, but it does take a massive amount of spiritual pressure to traverse it. Your dad knows how to open one. I’m not going to open it so you can play around and get yourself killed, Kazui. You need to stop talking to Hiyori and Riruka,” the man replied. “You two should hurry to the cafe and meet your parents.”

They boy sighed, seemingly put out. “Fine. See you around,” he said, hanging his head slightly as he turned toward the exit.

***

Eriko was even more distressed by all this. She looked at Kazui. “You know how I asked Dad a couple weeks ago what my version of flash step was?”

“Yeah,” he replied, the false melancholy he had donned for Urahara had evaporated, and now he was only mildly worried about his de facto sister’s mood.

“I think he gave me the information because he was tired. It was the day after his birthday when I asked. He looked about fed up and exhausted,” Eriko said. She chewed on her lip for a moment. “Maybe he’ll tell you something. You can’t open one, so he might give you more information if you ask when he’s tired.”

The boy nodded. “Tomorrow. Friday is always busy and it’s the end of the week and Mom is crabbier because she’s been alone all week. After he gets home and while he’s working at the kitchen counter, I’ll ask him. You distract Mom, though.”

Eriko scowled. “How am I supposed to do that? Ask her about baby stuff?”

“Yeah! Have you felt the baby kick yet?” he asked, offering her a small smile.

She shook her head. “No. It looks like an alien when it moves.”

Kazui chuckled and shook his head. “You’re a weird girl. It’s our brother. He can hear you in there, you know. You should ask to introduce yourself.”

“Wait a minute! Have you felt him move? Have you introduced yourself to the alien baby?”

Kazui straightened up and lifted his chin. “His name is Shinzo, and he’s not an alien! Of course I’ve felt him move and introduced myself. I tell him about my day every night while you take a bath.”

Oh, that’s why she hadn’t seen him do that. Eriko sighed. “Babies are… weird. I mean, I’ve not been around a lot of them, but I don’t see the appeal of them. Sato-san bought me a doll but I never really played with it. And I know what Shinzo’s name is,” she argued. “I kind of feel sorry for Dad. He does too much and I know he doesn’t get much sleep. I wish we could fix this. We will fix his. I want to see our parents happy again and in love, not bickering about little things.”

Kazui sighed and nodded. “We will fix this. Ask Mom about the baby tomorrow and I’ll talk to Dad. We’ll get this straightened out. And I can’t blame you for not playing with the doll; they are like gigai with no souls in them. Totally creepy.” 

Kazui smiled at Eriko and added, “I’ve been around my baby cousins, and they can be totally annoying, but they are also sometimes really cute. I want like a million kids when I grow up.”

“Well you can count me out of that. I don’t want any,” Eriko replied. “I don’t want to pass down this thing, nor do I want to deal with wiping butts. Kids take money and time.”

“That’s the truth, lots of butts and poop and money. That’s why I’m going to be a famous action movie actor.” Kazui nodded like it was a foregone conclusion.

“You’re insane,” Eriko said as if that was the truth.

He flashed his brows at her. “Maybe,” he said with a grin and then took off. “Last one there is a rotten egg!”

“You’re already rotten, Kaz!”

***

The next day, Kazui went home directly after school. He talked to his mom. He talked to Shinzo. He did his homework. He nodded knowingly at Eriko when she got home a bit later. Then he waited. And waited. And waited.

Usually Kazui wasn’t good at waiting, but today he knew it was in his favor. The more tired and irritated Ulquiorra was, the more likely he would be to just tell the boy anything he wanted to know to placate him and get him off of his back.

It was almost nine o'clock that evening when Ulquiorra walked through the door. He was exhausted as usual. Orihime didn’t sleep well last night. He kept waking up or tossing and turning. He was frustrated and had been that way since his birthday. It was irritating to get up in the morning to go teach kids and then go to the cafe to wait tables, make cookies, and clean. Usually the kids had things under control at home, but he just sighed louder when he walked into a somewhat messy kitchen. Eriko was standing at the sink trying to scrub something from a pan. “What is this?”

“I accidentally burned dessert. I was trying a recipe,” she answered, turning her head towards her father. “Caramel is hard.”

Shaking his head, Ulquiorra went into the living room and kissed the top of his girlfriend’s head. “Hello,” he said. 

“Hello my love,” she said after she looked at his face and saw how tired he looked. He had been a youthful-looking mid-thirties when they first got together, but his never-ending work schedule and lack of sleep was showing. His eyes were sunken and dark and there was a permanent-looking divot in his forehead. “Why don’t you have a seat and put your feet up on my lap for a bit? You look wiped out.”

“I can’t; the kitchen is a mess and I have papers to grade and look over. I’ll rest when that’s done,” Ulquiorra stated. He smiled at her though, before giving her a kiss. “I appreciate the offer though. Maybe on Sunday we can relax. Is there any dinner leftover?”

“There should be. Eri put it away, I think.”

With a nod and turning back to the kitchen, Ulquiorra found his offspring still scrubbing at the dish. “Have you finished your homework?”

“No, I’m almost done with it.”

“Go do it and I’ll finish cleaning up in here,” Ulquiorra said. He watched his daughter practically run out of the room and head for the stairs. He was trying to maintain a sense of calm, but it only went so far when he had very little sleep since Eriko was taken by Yuko. First he needed food, and then he would clean up the kitchen. As he rummaged through the refrigerator, he heard footsteps behind him.

“Hey! Hey!” an insistent voice whispered behind him.

“Yes, Kazui? What is it?” Ulquiorra asked, as he pulled out some grilled fish and rice.

Kazui looked at the man with a wary expression and walked around the side of him so they could make eye contact, then said in low tones so that Orihime wouldn’t hear, “I overheard Grandpa and Urahara-san talking. They said a, um, I think they called it a Gigantaur, opened up in Karakura last night. I asked them to tell me what it is, but they won’t!” The boy was doing a decent job laying on the terrified child act.

Hearing the boy talk about Urahara did nothing to quell his irritation. Ulquiorra turned and looked at Kazui before he got a plate down from a cabinet to put his food on. “The only thing I know that shinigami would say that opened and starts with a g is a Garganta. Do you mean Garganta? Why are you eavesdropping on adults?”

“They were just talking about it right behind me while I was watching TV at Grandpa’s,” Kazui answered with a huff, as if to agree with Ulquiorra’s assessment that the information was not for his ears. “So, what’s a Garganta? How does it open? What happens when you open it?”

So many questions!

Ulquiorra scowled for a moment as he thought about it. It wouldn’t hurt to inform Kazui about this stuff. He was a shinigami, not a hollow. No one else was putting forth the effort to teach the boy about these things. “It’s a portal between realms, mainly for hollows and dark creatures.” He paused for a moment. “Most Arrancars and higher forms of Hollows can just rip open space and walk through. Most of them like appearing in the sky for intimidation effects.”

Kazui’s eyes widened, apparently in fear. “So if I was just walking past, they could grab me and throw me into one? What would happen then?”

“If you’re walking in the sky and they grab you, then you’d be screwed, but you mostly stay on the ground so you’d be okay. But, if that were to happen, you just fall through a void. It’s never ending. If that were to happen, you'd have to gather your spiritual pressure to act like a platform or a bridge to make a path through it.”

The boy nodded in dim understanding. “Okay, so just make a path. Through it? To where? How do I decide where to go?”

Ulquiorra sighed. He was tired and he wanted to eat. While he loved Kazui, the kid would be persistent until he got his answers. “You have to visualize where to go. If you want to go to Hueco Mundo you need to focus on that being your destination. Since I was an Arrancar, I used Descorrer and walked through. It didn’t take me long to reach where I wanted to go.”

Kazui was going to ignore that new word, but figured he better ask. “Descorrer? What’s that?”

“It’s a more stable way to open a Garganta; reishi isn’t so frantic inside of it.”

“How do you do that? I mean, if I saw an Arrancar doing that, what would it look like?”

He shut his eyes for a moment, thinking back to when he was an Espada. Could he still make one? Ulquiorra then opened his eyes, lifted his right arm, with a finger extended before he brought the finger down like he was tapping something. Of course nothing happened. “It’s a simple gesture. That’s what I used to do. Just touch the place where I wanted to open it.”

The boy scowled deeply. It was too easy. “So you just tapped the air like you were ringing a bell and space ripped open for you? Did you have to say a magic word or do some kind of visualization or something?”

“Well, of course, but all Arrancar have the ability to perform Descorrer.” The man sighed. “Its a visualization of where you want to go. Can I eat now? Have I satisfied your curiosity?”

Kazui smiled at Ulquiorra sheepishly. “Yeah, I’m sorry to bother you. Thanks, Dad,” he murmured before turning toward the stairs.

“You’re not a bother Kaz. I’m just hungry, kiddo.”

***

“You are not going to BELIEVE this!” Kazui hissed after Eriko slipped into his room later that night.

The girl looked at her best friend and rolled her eyes. She never got a chance to talk to Orihime, because the woman had fallen asleep on the couch soon after Kazui went downstairs. “What is it? Also, maybe if Mom didn’t sleep during the day, she’d sleep at night.” 

Kazui rolled his eyes. It was a chicken and egg argument he didn't feel like having. “Anyway, get this, all you have to do to open a Garganta is do like this,” he said, repeating the gesture Ulquiorra had made, “and it just happens.  _ All _ Arrancar can do it. You just have to visualize where to go.”

Eriko’s brows knitted together as she stared at the boy. “That’s it? That’s all we have to do?”

“Well, yeah, and gather your spiritual energy to make a path so you don’t fall into an endless void, but that’s it. The only missing piece for us to get to Soul Society now is to find a way to visualize it, and I think I know how to get the information we need for that.” Kazui smiled at her, excited that they were getting closer to their goal.

“And how do you plan to do that? Also where are we supposed to open this thing? Will Hiyori let us do it there?” Eriko asked. “Are you going to ask Hiyori?”

“Something Ichika once told me, which I have found to be true, is that it’s better to ask for forgiveness than it is to ask for permission. We’ll do it at Hiyori’s,” Kazui said.

Eriko raised her eyebrows. “How are you going to get the information, though? What if you ask Hiyori and she refuses to tell you anything?”

“I’m not going to ask Hiyori. Tomorrow we have to go to Grandpa’s and we’ll go through my dad’s stuff. My aunt Rukia used to be quite the illustrator. She drew all kinds of diagrams of Soul Society. My aunt put them all in a binder for him. We can swipe it and bring it home,” he announced, crossing his arms over his chest victoriously.

“Nice, so we just leave the adults and run off to Grandpa’s? There has to be something in there that will point us in the right direction.” Eriko finally smiled at Kazui. “Brilliant plan!”

***

“Mom! We’re going to Grandpa’s!” Kazui shouted as he trounced down the steps. “Want us to get anything on our way back home?”

It was Saturday, so Ulquiorra was at Halcyon. Saturdays weren’t the worst day for him there; the staff was all there and he could bring work from school along and just be in the office if any help was required, but the day started relatively early. He was already out of the house. If Orihime needed something before he came back, she had to rely on the kids.

“Um, if you could pick up some milk and eggs on your way back, I think that’s all we need.”

“Got it! Milk and eggs! I’ll just grab a thousand yen out of your purse?”

“Yep! Be careful and give Grandpa a hug for me!”

“Will do! Get some rest!” Eriko shouted as she ran down the hall for the genkan. It was easy to slip her boots on and get her coat. She waited for Kazui outside, hopping around in the chilly air.

He came out the door a minute later, blowing out a relieved breath that curled into steam in the chilly December air. “It’s cold today!” he announced, rubbing his hands together and nodding before walking down the drive.

“It's always cold this time of year. People expect it to be different, but it won’t be,” Eriko said. She was kind of nervous about today. If they were to get caught, it’d be bad. But… “What are you going to tell Grandpa? You want to look through your dad’s things?”

“Yeah. He’ll give me that… what’s the word? Wistful? Yeah, wistful. That’s what Mom says, anyway. He’ll give me that wistful smile and ruffle my hair and tell me to “scram”. He likes it when I remember my dad. He’ll like it even more that I want to share his memory with you.”

Eriko almost rolled her eyes but refrained. The head of the Kurosaki family was a sentimental and emotional mess at times. She kind of wished her dad was like that, but then again… He kind of was like that with Orihime. The girl could tell that her father loved the redhead a lot. “Do you think we’ll get to see your dad when we go to the soul society?”

“Uh… Maybe? Hopefully not, though… I don’t know. Like, I want to see him, but…” Kazui bit his lip and his expression grew dark. He had avoided the idea of running into Ichigo until now.

“Sorry. I didn’t mean anything bad by it.”

He spared her a glance and shook his head. “I know. It’s not that, it’s just hard to imagine. He’s dead. It’s been two and a half years and I feel like I’m okay with it now. I’m afraid if I see him again I’ll get sad.” He looked at Eriko and added, “What if everyone is right, and he doesn’t recognize me? It will be so weird!” 

The boy stopped walking after he had another realization. He looked to the side and his cheeks colored as he struggled with the thought.

“What?” Eriko was confused. Why would Kazui be blushing? “Its okay to be sad… sometimes.”

“It’s just… If he  _ does _ recognize me…” Kazui sighed. “It might make me feel really guilty for, um, moving on.”

It was on the tip of Eriko’s tongue to tell him it was his dad’s fault he was dead and it was okay to move on. She reached out and put a hand on Kazui’s shoulder. “Hey, it’s okay. Stuff like this happens. It’s life.”

The boy sniffed and nodded. His best friend wasn’t usually very supportive, but she was coming through today. “Thanks. Let’s get going.”

***

“For some reason I remember these drawings being much more… Um, much more realistic?” Kazui said, scratching the back of his head as he looked down at the diagram made up of bunnies dressed as shinigami on a map of Soul Society that he had spread out on his bed. “Think these will help at all?”

Eriko looked at the drawings before she put her hand over her mouth to suppress the laughter that was building. “Um, uh, ah,” she waffled as she snorted out tiny giggles. Finally she couldn’t stand it and laughed, throwing her head back. “Oh god! Who drew these? A five year old?”

Kazui’s lips pulled back and he snorted a laugh before falling into a fit of chuckles, despite himself. “Um, no, actually,” he laughed a bit hard and then bit his lip and looked at Eri with pink, appley cheeks, just like his mother would do. His eyes sparkled before admitting, “It was my Aunt Rukia.” He snickered and looked back down at the paper. “She, uh, she thinks she’s really good.”

“I thought your mom didn’t have any siblings and there was just Aunt Yuzu and Karin. Who is this Rukia?” Eriko asked. She was still smiling as she shuffled through the drawings.

“Uh, she’s not really my aunt, not like Yuzu and Karin. She was one of my parents really good friends. She and her husband fought with them in all the wars.”

It was a found family thing, not a blood relation. Eriko nodded. She understood that. “She must be really young to draw like this. What is she about your mom’s age?”

“No, she’s gotta be close to two hundred years old, at least. That’s what Ichika told me, anyway.”

The laughter quickly stopped and Eriko looked very confused. “Two-hundred years old? She’s gotta be ancient looking, then!”

“No, not really. She looks younger than my mom does now.”

Woah. That made Eriko surprised. “Oh. Well, I’m hoping we don’t run into any trouble or people when we go. Just get in and get out with this Tsukishima guy.”

Kazui agreed and nodded his head. “So, do you think you can visualize Soul Society with these drawings, or do we need something better?”

Eriko looked over the number of drawings in front of her and then picked out a spot. “We could go for that big rock in the middle of the map.”

Kazui sighed. “Maybe I should ask Urahara if he has something better. Pictures or schematics… I could tell him I miss my dad and want to be able to imagine where he is now.”

“What about Hiyori’s boyfriend or whatever… Shithead or, oh, what’s his name? Baldy?” Eriko’s face scrunched up as she tried to remember.

“His name’s Shinji, and I don’t know what we could have him do. We only have four days till Mom and Dad go on their trip. Besides, he's in Soul Society.”

“We could ask Hiyori to describe this place. We could ask her where this mad scientist is in Soul Society. She might tell us. We could bribe her.”

Kazui chuckled. “With what? Go ahead and ask if you want. It might be convenient. It would be fresh in your mind and you could rip open the Garganta right after she explains, that is,  _ if _ she explains.”

Eriko stood up and grabbed the drawings. “Let’s go then!”

“Now?”

“You want to wait until Mom and Dad leave?” Eriko asked. This would be the perfect time to ask.

“Yeah. The last thing we need is them jumping into a Senkaimon behind us and Dad getting taken into Soul Society custody. We have to make sure they won’t know we’re gone. If we can get in and get out before they get to where they are going, it should be no problem.”

Eriko pouted for a moment. “What if I can’t do it? What if I can’t open the Garganta?”

Kazui sighed. “Then we beg Urahara. He has a senkaimon. I don’t know. I just know that if we get Dad in trouble, then all this will be for nothing. We’re trying to save our family, not make things worse. Besides, I believe in you, Eri. I know you can do it. Look how far you’ve come in less than two months of training!”

The girl knew her best friend wasn’t saying that just to appease her. He really believed it. “Okay, I’ll try my best.”

***

Having the hearing he did, Ulquiorra sighed as he heard the children whispering in Kazui’s room. 

“So I’m just going to rip it open and we’re gonna run...”

Eriko.

“...I wonder what Soul Society is like.”

Kazui.

Another sigh went through him. He was going to have to cancel this trip with Orihime. Those two sounded like they were planning on a very frowned upon trip of their own. He looked at Orihime, who was laying beside him in bed. “What do you remember of Tsukishima?”

“Hmm? Tsukishima?” She blinked a few times as she tried to recall, and also wondered why Ulquiorra was asking. “He was tall and thin and had a creepy smile he always wore? What do you want to know?”

“Do you remember where he lived in Soul Society? Do you have a photograph of him?”

“No photos. Urahara might have one, or I can sketch him for you. I think he lived somewhere in Rukongai. Why do you ask?”

Ulquiorra looked at her and frowned. “Our kids are planning on breaking into Soul Society while we’re gone. If I can get there first, I can save us a lot of headaches,” he said. “I can get Tsukishima and come back. That’s why I need to know what he looks like. I need a detailed photo or image of him.”

Orihime’s eyes pinched. A long sigh followed. “What are they thinking,” she muttered, sitting up. “How are you going to get there and come back to me safely? I can’t lose you,” she said, her mouth in a firm line as she looked at her boyfriend.

“The bracelet. I’m sure Urahara--Wait… The kids said something about a soul pass or badge. I can go to Urahara’s, get out of my gigai, and then open a Garganta.” Ulquiorra looked at his lap. “Orihime, something needs to be done. You’re not getting better. I’m tired of living like this.”

She didn’t want to accept that he was right, but she knew that he was. Now that the kids were trying to involve themselves, it was more urgent. “I don’t like it. Test the bracelet first,” she said softly, lifting worried eyes back to his. “Ichigo’s battle pass is at the apartment in his shrine.”

Ulquiorra’s brow lifted. “Are you sure? _Kazui! Get in here!_ ”

The boy sat up where he was and froze, wide eyes slowly sliding towards Eriko‘s. “What did I do?” he whispered.

“I don’t know,” Eriko said.

Ulquiorra’s voice boomed through the upper floor of the house. “KAZUI! BRING THAT SOUL REAPER THING!”

The boy’s face grew hot and he grabbed the badge off of the desk in the room and shuffled quickly down the hall to the adults’ room. He knocked.

“Come in, Monkey,” Orihime’s voice was tense as she welcomed him.

The green-eyed man was standing up and pacing the floor when the door opened. As soon as Kazui was inside, Ulquiorra grabbed the soul reaper badge and held it up by one finger. “This? This is not on your late husband’s shrine. It hasn’t been for weeks now, Orihime. Kazui, do you realize what could have happened to you two if you had gone through with this?”

“I— We—“ Kazui looked from Ulquiorra to his mother with a pleading expression. “We just wanted to help.”

“Help? Help? By how? Getting yourselves killed? Getting detained by the Gotei 13? By never coming home? Think!” Ulquiorra snapped. “Eriko!”

The girl had followed Kazui down to the room and was standing out in the hall. “Yes?” she asked as she came into view. They were in trouble. She had forgotten that her dad had some sort of super sensitive hearing and they had been jabbering about their plans since they hatched the idea.

Ulquiorra scoffed and folded his arms across his chest. “Are you serious? You think you can navigate a Garganta? You think you could take on a captain class soul reaper?”

“Hiyori--”

“I don’t give a damn who Hiyori is or what she says. You two were planning a suicide mission!”

Orihime looked at the children with a mix of pity and disappointment. “I appreciate the sentiment, but you two are just kids. This is more dangerous than you can possibly imagine. And if we lost you…” she sighed. “We would not… We can’t lose you.”

“You two are to stay here with your mother. I’m cancelling our trip. I’m going to Urahara’s now.” Ulquiorra said as he got some socks out of the dresser. “I want you two to cater to Orihime’s wishes.”

“But what are you going to do?” Kazui asked, nibbling in his lip.

“I’m going to get Tsukishima.”


	42. Chapter 42

The bracelet still worked. Urahara said he couldn’t detect Ulquiorra’s spiritual pressure. As soon as he was out of the gigai, Ulquiorra did several laps around the bunker, his wings snapping as he took flight. 

He had gotten the information from Urahara, studying the image of Tsukishima diligently until he had it memorized. Then he memorized the map of the Soul Society. Urahara told him everything he needed to know. Tsukishima was a prisoner of Mayuri Kurotsuchi, captain of the twelfth division. The man was a madder scientist than Urahara. Finally, and if at all possible, Ulquiorra had to evade capture. 

Yoruichi was going with him.

Ulquiorra used  Descorrer . The Garganta opened. It was cold when he stepped foot inside. The dark-skinned woman kept up with him.

“Where are you going in?”

_ Snap. Snap. Snap. _

His wings sliced through the reishi surrounding him.  “Inside the Seireitei.”

“How do you--”

“I watched Orihime right before I kidnapped her. I stopped her in the Dangai. I studied her as she trained with Rukia Kuchiki,” Ulquiorra stated. “I’ve already been inside the thirteenth division’s area.”

***

When they emerged from the Garganta, Ulquiorra made sure they were in a cluster of trees. He could hear shouting in the distance. The former Shinigami was already nodding her head. “This way.”

The two took off, using Sonido and Shunpo to get through the trees and away from the voices. “You know your way around, right?” Ulquiorra asked. 

“Not a lot has changed in the past hundred or so years. Of course, the last time I was here, Yhwach had rearranged it.” Yoruichi flashed him a smile. 

It didn’t take long for them to come across a huge building. “What is this?” Ulquiorra asked.

“You’re looking at the twelfth division. This has their barracks, mess hall and everything else inside of it,” Yoruichi said. 

Ulquiorra had been expecting a female standing beside him. He wasn’t prepared for the cat that leapt onto his shoulder. “What the--”

“Easier this way. Less detection. I’ll go see where this Fullbringer is and then come get you.”

He raised an eyebrow and found a dark spot to hunker down in. All he had to do was wait. The weather didn’t bother him. The noises from the soul reapers’ daily lives didn’t bother him. In spite of the danger he had put himself in, Ulquiorra found his eyes getting heavy, and he nodded off. 

He immediately woke up when he felt claws dig into his chest. “Ouch!”

“Wake up,” the black cat said.

“Did you--”

“Third level of the lab. He’s down there with another Fullbringer, Kugo Ginjo. They’re confined to a room.” Yoruichi licked her paw and then stared at him.

“So blow some Ceros and grab him?”

“And bring the entire Gotei 13 down on our heads? Are you even thinking?”

Ulquiorra sighed. When he came up with this plan, he hadn’t been thinking. Even now he didn’t have a solid plan. “What do we do?”

Yoruichi huffed. “We wait until nightfall and then we go in.”

***

It was dark in the halls of the building. Ulquiorra’s wings were starting to feel cramped; he had to keep them close to his body, and had been doing so for most of the day. He didn’t even notice the pain when he was inside of the gigai. Then again, his gigai seemed to have enough room for his released form. 

Nothing seemed amiss.

Nothing seemed off.

When Yoruichi stopped in front of a door and flicked her tail at it, Ulquiorra stopped. “What?” he asked in a whisper.

“Scents,” the cat said, lifting her nose up to sniff. 

No. It wasn’t a scent. It was vibrations. Ulquiorra could feel it. He put one finger to the ground. There were several captain class soul reapers nearby. “Six,” he said.

“This is unfortunate!” came a weird voice. “You were supposed to wait until the trap was sprung to figure it out.”

“That’s Mayuri’s voice,” the cat growled. Her head whipped around just in time to see Ulquiorra fall to his knees.

“Dammit!” the arrancar said through gritted teeth. Something was pressing on him. It wasn’t spiritual pressure. Even Aizen couldn’t make him cower with that.

“Did you know that bats are sensitive to sounds? The lower or higher the frequency, the more easily a sound can ground them. What are you?”

Ulquiorra’s breathing was becoming labored as he tried to speak. He fumbled with the piece of jewelry around his wrist. “Yoruichi. Take the bracelet. Go back to Orihime. Tell her...Tell her I’m coming back.”

The dim light of the corridor went out and the cat had to listen to hear the sharp clang of metal before she was gone.

*** 

Orihime was in bed. She had tried to go about her daily activities, but couldn’t help but worry about her boyfriend. She had taken it out on the kids to a degree, setting them on task after task, nitpicking a bit, micromanaging to ensure that everything was done up to Ulquiorra’s expectations. She wanted him to be pleased when he got back. She hoped to god he would soon.

After Kazui and Eri were in bed, she got under the covers and took out her notebooks and the journals that Ulquiorra had read through. She didn’t know why she waited until now, but she felt like she should be doing something,  _ anything _ , to try to assist the former Espada in his quest to restore her memories. She cracked open the oldest one first and began to read.

Her eyes watered and her hand trembled. She felt sick to her stomach. This one was about her feelings of jealousy towards Rukia. It made note of her feelings of leaving Karakura for Hueco Mundo. It did not reference Uqluiorra by name or describe him, though. It ended with the phrase,  _ Goodbye, halcyon days. _

She closed her eyes and calmed down before reaching for the next journal. This one was from when she had returned after the winter war. She was frustrated as she went through the pages. The first several were all about how brave Ichigo had been and how sad it was that he was in a coma. The pages went on and on about how he wasn’t waking up and how he was losing his spiritual pressure. Nothing about anyone or anything else.

It was kind of pathetic.

She was ready to just give up and pack all of the journals back when she saw it.

It was a doodle. An eye with a vertical slit for a pupil. Underneath the doodle was his name. Her eyes darted from side to side until they rolled back under her lids and she lost consciousness.

***

Pain coursed through Ulquiorra's body. For some reason, he felt lighter. His spiritual pressure was growing.

“What the hell did you do, Nemu? I told you to touch him once with the experimental Hogyoku!” Mayuri screamed. 

“I did that, sir.”

“It’s supposed to drain his powers, not make him more powerful! But I must say, this arrancar looks so much better like this. AKON! Do we have images of what he looked like before?”

The third seat nodded and rushed over to Mayuri with a small stack. “Hmmm, yes. The hair. The eyes. The wings. Look, even his feet transformed. We need to test that stuff coming from his head and tail.”

Ulquiorra’s head rolled to the side. He felt drugged, almost. He felt incapacitated. This wasn’t good. He was supposed to be stealing a Fullbringer to bring back to Orihime. He saw a flash of white as he flexed his hand. 

What?

His hands were not white in his second released form. They had always been black and covered with fur. When his head dropped forward, he saw white clawed feet. What the hell happened to him?

“Let me go,” he muttered.

The Shinigami captain sneered for a moment. “Nemu, it’s talking. Zap it again.” 

His eyes followed the machine that held a little ball, surrounded by a small field of spiritual pressure. Ulquiorra knew what that was; the small swirling ball of color was just like Aizen’s. “No.”

“You don’t have a choice in the matter. You invaded my laboratory and thought you could get away with it, didn’t you?” Mayuri asked. 

As soon as the small orb came into contact with his hollow hole, Ulquiorra screeched in pain. Again, he felt his powers growing. He was only vaguely aware of what had happened. There was a bright light. He was swirling his way up. Feathers floated down to the ground. 

“Sound the alarm! He’s loose!”

Bells rang out. There was more shouting. His hands came together and a spear of green light formed. Ulquiorra didn’t know how or why but he sent it hurtling towards the building he was floating over.

***

“Kugo, grab his arm. Tsukishima, grab the other one.” 

That was Yoruichi’s voice.

“I don’t see--”

“Would you like to continue to be Mayuri’s little experimental mice, or do you want to go back to the world of the living?” The voice didn’t sound nearly as gravelly so she wasn’t a cat, if Ulquiorra had to guess. “Hold up the end of your bargain, and Urahara will give you gigais.”

His eyes opened and he saw white hair hanging in front of his face. “What--”

“No time to chat, Ulq. We’re going up and I need you to rip open that Garganta,” Yoruichi stated.

“What happened?”

“Besides the fact that you obliterated the twelfth division’s building? Nothing, but I need you to put the bracelet back on. I’m gonna get us through the Garganta. I need you to open it. Right now your spiritual pressure is intense and it’s fluctuating. Kisuke can help stabilize it once we’re back.”

As he felt that cool metal on his wrist, Ulquiorra felt calmer. He felt like things were going to be okay. He was tired though.

“You’ve gotta stay awake, Ulq. C’mon. We’re in the sky,” Yoruichi said.

He could barely do it. He could barely use Descorrer. He was afraid as they shot through the opening and he closed it, leaving them in darkness. The reishi still swirled around him. 

***

“Kazui! Call Grandpa! There’s something wrong with Mom!” Eriko screamed. She had heard the redhead cry out and for some reason got out of bed. She had just gone along with her gut feeling, knowing something was off. It was a good thing, too. It looked like Orihime was having a seizure or something.

Kazui flew down the stairs to the kitchen where the landline sat, and dialed Isshin. Eriko heard him frantically explain that something was wrong with his mother, then paused. “What’s happening?!” he shouted up the stairs.

“She’s shaking! Her eyes are like, huge… I don’t know! Mom!?” Eriko said to the woman. 

Kazui explained as quickly as possible as he ran up the stairs and then stopped, nearly dropping the phone when he saw Orihime convulse on the bed. “Grandpa, it’s serious,” he said in a low, trembling voice.

“I’ll be there in less than a minute,” Isshin said on the other end of the line before hanging up.

In less than a minute, the older Shinigami arrived at the Cifer residence, knocking at the front door. “Kazui! Eriko!” he shouted, not worrying about waking the neighbors; without his gigai no one else would hear him anyway.

Kazui jumped down the stairs again and threw the door open. “Upstairs!” he shouted, then saw just a flash of black.

Isshin opened the door and saw Eriko first. “When did this start, Eri-chan?” he asked carefully.

“I dunno, Grandpa. I heard her call out and then I came in here. She’s been shaking like this and there’s these books all over,” Eriko said. She looked at the older man and then at her adopted mom.

Isshin looked at one of the books and huffed. She should not have done this alone. “Step back, Eriko. I need to do some Kido to calm her down,” Isshin explained, mumbling an incantation after the girl had backed up. Slowly, Orihime’s body calmed down and she appeared to be sleeping peacefully. Isshin sighed and took a seat. He wasn’t sure how long the effects would last or if Orihime would need more spells.

“What’s wrong with her?” Eriko asked from the doorway. “Is she going to be okay? Have you heard from Dad?”

Isshin frowned. “No. I expect they should be back soon. Please find Orihime’s phone; I will send a message to Kisuke. I don’t want a butterfly tracked.”

Eriko did as the older man asked and found Orihime’s phone in her purse. The girl brought it back upstairs and handed it to him. “A butterfly?”

“Yeah, it’s how Shinigami communicate long distance,” Isshin muttered in a distracted voice as he readied a text to Urahara. “There,” he announced after it was sent. “He’ll let us know as soon as your father is back.”

How long did it take to get to Soul Society and back? What if something happened to her dad? “What are we going to do?”

“We wait. You two should go back to bed. I’ll keep your mother safe and comfortable,” Isshin said, with no room for argument.

“But—“ the girl saw the look on the man’s face and nodded. This was one time she should just go with what the adult said. “Goodnight Grandpa.”

“Goodnight, Eri-chan,” he answered with a tight grin. “Goodnight, “Kazui,” he said as his eyes moved over to the boy near the door.

“Goodnight,” Kazui said, grabbing Eriko’s wrist as she came out the door.

The girl with green eyes was scared. She looked at her best friend. “What?” she asked.

Kazui’s eyes were equally afraid. “Do you want to stay downstairs on the couch with me? I don’t think I can sleep. We can watch TV quietly. I don’t think Grandpa will mind,” he said. He didn’t want to be alone right now.

“Yes,” she answered and followed Kazui. When they were on the couch Eriko laid her head on his shoulder. “Dad needs to come back.”

Kazui nodded. “Yeah,” he said quietly, not saying what he was thinking, and that was that at this moment, he was more worried about him than he was about his mother.

***

“How far have we fallen?” Yoruichi asked.

“A couple meters, maybe more,” the greasy-looking man said.

Carting around a half-dead arrancar wasn’t ideal when going through something like this. Ulquiorra looked drained, though. He looked half out of it. He still had that little ball inside of his hollow hole. Those weird green flames still licked at his head and tail. The green streaks down his body pulsed with a weird neon green light. 

“Ulquiorra, are we getting close?”

The arrancar lifted his head. It still weighed heavy. It didn’t seem like he was ever going to recover from this. “Huh? Look… for… the light.”

Great, this guy was heading towards the light. Yoruichi didn’t think that Orihime would appreciate it if her boyfriend died while on this crazy mission. “C’mon Ulquiorra. You need to guide us. We’ll keep the platform up, you get us out of here.”

It took him longer than necessary to find their way out of the Garganta. The four of them stumbled onto the dusty ground of Urahara’s bunker. Immediately a kido barrier went around Tsukishima.

“What did you bring back?” Urahara asked as Ulquiorra fell to the ground.

“One modified arrancar and two fullbringers.”

Urahara raised an eyebrow. One modified arrancar? That didn’t even look like Cifer. “Uh, what happened?”

“Mayuri,” Yoruichi said as if that explained everything.

***

It was horrifying. Memories of Tsukishima in the dangai; memories of Tsukishima in Las Noches, memories of being beaten bloody by Menoly and Loly. These were horrific, but what was worse was the memories of her and Ishida rising on a surface of blue reishi, only to be met by her late husband’s lifeless body and a winged monster with no face.

The monster spoke to her but had no voice and no words. She felt no fear of this monster. She felt the fear of losing her late husband, of losing Kazui. 

Her memories pushed her forward. The faceless monster kept speaking to her but she could not hear its words. She still could not see its face. She still was unafraid.

But then… her memories turned darker still. An onslaught of power. A chilling screech. The shadow of a much more terrifying beast came to life in her memories. She could see white bone and flashes of red hair and horns. She could not see its face. She only knew that it  _ had _ been Ichigo.

She saw the monsters engage in battle. It was merciless. The smaller beast was fast, but the larger one was ridiculously overpowered. Overpowered and careless. She recalled her own body being flung so fast that she lost consciousness for a moment. Ishida had caught her, that time.

Then the large beast focused his attack on Ishida. A red light appeared between the beast’s horns. She was in the line of fire.

The faceless creature, although cut in two, had stopped it. The black figure had spared both her and Ishida. 

It was too late for the black creature. She recalled it reaching to her. 

“I’m not. I’m not afraid,” she had told it. She had reached back. 

She was not afraid.

She was devastated.

***

As Tessai worked over the Arrancar, Urahara noticed the Hogyoku first. “Mayuri, tsk tsk tsk. Jinta! Bring me some tongs!”

It was only moments later that some metal tool came flying at him from above. “Thank you!”

That wasn’t a real hogyoku. It couldn’t be. There was only one in existence, and Urahara had it hidden under many layers of security. “I think Cifer is being poisoned.”

“How can you tell?”

“That’s Mayuri’s calling card. He poisons people. Plus with all this kido you’re putting into him, he’s not getting better. I’m going to extract the thing in his chest and analyze it.”

That metal was carefully inserted into the hollow hole. As soon as this hogyoku was clear of the hole, Urahara could see how that it was indeed leeching poison. A purplish substance dripped from the orb along with the swirling spirits inside of it.

“Urahara-san… Look.”

Urahara looked from the ball to Tessai to Ulquiorra. The bone white arrancar took several shuddering breaths and then stopped. “Shit.”

He fell to his knees and started checking for a pulse. How did one tell if an arrancar was alive or not? Oh. The greenish flames around his head were starting to dim. Ulquiorra’s skin started to look dry. Hadn’t Kurosaki said that Ulquiorra had turned to ash and dust? ”I need it. I need the Hogyoku. The actual one.”

Yoruichi was the one who used Shunpo to go over to one protrusion of rock and pressed her thumb against a small depression. Once the door of rock opened, Urahara could hear Yoruichi using Shunpo to go down the stairs. He could only hope that this would work.

***

Ulquiorra remembered breaking out of the Caja Negacion. He remembered having words with Orihime, and Ichigo Kurosaki showing up, followed by Loly, Menoly, Yammy and the Quincy prick. The hole he blew in the dome of Las Noches came into view and the destruction of the towers that followed. He released Murcielago again and killed the boy. He had told Orihime it was futile to try and bring him back. 

He had listened to her anguished cries as he dealt with Ishida. It had been enough time for her to somehow revive him, but Kurosaki had turned into a mindless monster who was faster than him. The Vasto Lorde had more power than him. The only thing he could do was protect Orihime. 

In his memories, he watched as his hand stretched out to her. All he wanted was a piece of her heart. He had given his heart to her. He felt the same way when he was turning to ash.

Oh.

That was it.

He was dying again.

Tears leaked from the corners of his eyes. 

Eriko. Kazui. Shinzo. Orihime.

If he died again, he would never get to see his children grow up. He’d never get to see Orihime’s face light up with a smile as he walked into the house. He’d never get to hold his woman again. 

The mere thought of that made a sob erupt from his mouth. He couldn’t do this to her. He couldn’t put her through losing another lover. His strength was fading, though.

He was fading.

***

Urahara had to deal with the pain of grabbing the Hogyoku with bare hands. He didn’t have time to deal with the intricate tools to extract the thing from it’s prismatic prison. He shoved the thing into the hole in Ulquiorra’s chest and sat back to wait.

“Do you want me to take Tsukishima to Orihime?” Yoruichi asked.

The blond man nodded.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the second to last chapter!!!!!


	43. Chapter 43

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we are, at the end of another fic! Enjoy the ride, and thanks for sticking it out! (more notes at the end) - JKR

The dark-skinned woman pulled her captive along by a chain attached to a collar. The Fullbringer wouldn’t be able to do anything with the accessory on. Urahara was constantly working on things like this that would dampen spiritual pressure. When they arrived at the Cifer residence, she noted that Isshin was there. She could tell his spiritual pressure was strong. He must have been out of his body. 

“Isshin!”

“Yoruichi-san!” Isshin’s loud voice was heard through the door before it was opened by Kazui. 

“Grandpa is upstairs with Mom,” Kazui said in a fearful voice. He had fallen asleep on the couch with Eriko, but woke up about an hour ago. He was worried that no progress seemed to have been made with either of his parents.

“Thank you Kazui. Come Tsukishima,” Yoruichi said as she walked inside. She walked through the home and pinpointed where Isshin was, then followed the spiritual pressure until she found him, shoving her prisoner through the door. “Ulquiorra is dying,” this was said to Isshin before she turned to Tsukishima. “Fix her. Now.”

A heavy sigh went through Tsukishima. He pulled a book out of his pocket. “After I’m done, you’ll uphold your bargain, correct?”

Yoruichi glared at him and yanked on chain she was holding. She turned to Isshin. “What is going on with her? Why are you here?”

“She went into convulsions last night, presumably after reading some of her journals. The kids found her with them scattered around her. I’ve been keeping her safe with kido. What are you going to do to her, Tsukishima?” the older man asked.

“I’m going to undo what I did years ago.” The bookmark he pulled from the book transformed into a sword as soon as it cleared the pages. “She may have another breakdown after this--”

Without another word, Tsukishima brought his sword down, cutting Orihime’s shoulder. There was no blood where the blade sank into her, and that’s all it took to remove himself from her memories. As soon as the blade touched the book, it turned back into a bookmark. 

Orihime gasped and sat up quickly, her eyes looking wildly around the room. They landed on Tsukishima and narrowed. “What are _you_ doing here? Where is Ulquiorra? You’re an imposter!” she hissed. Her swollen belly moved and she brought a hand to it. “You… You did this to me. To us!” her voice rose and her expression hardened as she brought her hands up, a triangle forming between her palms.

“Orhime-chan!” Isshin shouted, standing in between her and Tsukishima. “Don’t; he was brought here to fix you. Ulquoirra brought him back for you. Can you remember now?”

The woman looked at her father-in-law and tears came to her eyes. “Yes. I can remember everything. Where is Ulquiorra? Why isn’t he here? Why is _he_ here?” she asked, the latter question regarding the other Fullbringer.

Yoruichi stepped up and answered the questions. “Ulquiorra is currently in Urahara’s bunker and we’re certain he’s dying. He almost didn’t make it back. He’s here because he was told to fix you or face certain death,” the woman said.

“What!?” Orihime stood quickly, unconcerned with her state of dress, in pajamas and nothing else. “I have to go to him now. I’m going,” she said in a distracted voice, looking around and then dashing toward the stairs, ignoring the fact that she felt dizzy and had to pee. Those details could wait. She couldn’t let Ulquiorra die. Not this time. Not again.

Yoruichi released Tsukishima and followed the woman. “What are you doing Orihime? Consider the state you’re in. Are you in any position to help?”

“I have to be. I can’t let him die! I need him,” she said, setting a hard glare at Yoruichi, although there was no malice in it. “Will you help me?”

“Come on.”

***

Yoruichi carried the redhead alongside her as she used Shunpo to make her way back to Karakura Town and the shoten. The former stealth squad captain was exhausted by the time they reached the place. “They’re in the bunker,” she huffed as she opened the door.

Orihime ran inside and to the room where she knew the trapdoor to the bunker lie. She threw it open and climbed down onto the platform, and she felt like her heart stopped.

There Ulquiorra was. He looked nothing like any form she had ever seen before. He was so, so beautiful. “Ulquiorra?” her voice broke as she asked for him to respond to her.

“Orihime?” he asked, turning his head to look at her. Urahara was still holding a vigil by his side. He didn’t feel like he was fading away anymore. “What are you doing out of bed?”

She could have fallen to her knees in relief, but instead called out, “Baigon, Hanagiku, Lily.” A golden triangle appeared at her feet, which she stepped onto and floated down to her lover’s side. “Ulquiorra… what happened to you?” she said as she knelt beside him. She wasn’t sure what state he was in. He seemed strong and powerful to her, but he still looked weak.

“Mayuri Kurotsuchi happened. He--”

“Mayuri was experimenting with something like Askin Nakk Le Var’s poison ball and a hogyoku, combined. Ulquiorra was telling me that when he was first touched with it, he felt pain and other sensations. He transformed. Somehow it fused with Ulquiorra’s hollow hole and was killing him,” Urahara said, staring at the redhead. “I almost killed him by taking it out. He had to be given the real hogyoku.”

“Are you alright now? Is the poison still inside of you? I’d like to reject it,” she said, looking at Urahara and then down at Ulquiorra. She picked up his hand and held it tightly before bringing it to her face and kissing his fingers.

Ulquiorra shook his head as much as he could. “I’m even more of a monster now,” he said quietly.

“No,” she whispered. “You’re not a monster. You’re my guardian. I love you. It worked, I remember,” she said, tears coming to her eyes. “I remember you.” She knelt down to kiss his lips.

It worked? She remembered him? Had Tsukishima undone whatever he had done to Orihime? Ulquiorra lifted one brilliantly white, clawed hand to Orihime’s face, and kissed her back. “I still feel weak. If you have the strength to… do your thing…?”

She sat up and gave him a watery smile. “Ayame, Shun-o, I reject,” she murmured, holding her hands above Ulquiorra.

Immediately relief spread through his body and Ulquiorra could feel power surging behind it. What happened to him? Within seconds he was on his feet and his wings took flight, breaking through Orihime’s dome. He was faster than he was before. He had to dial back his spiritual pressure to keep from destroying the entire bunker. 

Orihime’s eyes widened in awe as she watched him fly through the bunker. He looked angelic. He looked holy. The child in her belly lurched toward him, and her feet took her in his direction without her permission. “Oh,” she squeaked in surprise.

As soon as Orihime moved, Ulquiorra was tracking her. He set himself down gently, trying not to blow around a bunch of dust. Flying like that, with the different wings, had been exhilarating. It had been freeing, but he knew that he could never fly like that in the open skies above this place. “Woman? Are you okay?”

“Yes,” she said in a shaky voice. “It seems your son wants to say hello, though,” she said, an incredulous look on her face as one hand supported her belly.

His son. A small smile played on his mouth and Ulquiorra walked towards her. Seeing her body full of life was satisfying. It was an achievement for him. Not only had he sired one child, but he had another on the way. “You said you remembered me?” he asked as he carefully placed a hand on her stomach.

Orihime felt the pull in her belly subside into a soft flutter. Shinzo was calming down. She looked up at Ulquiorra with a small smile and blushed. “Yes. I remember all of it.” She sighed and put a hand over his. How could he have ever spent a moment worrying that she would reject him? What he had done in Hueco Mundo as an Espada had been nothing short of miraculous to her.

“You still love me? You do not hate me? You’re not afraid of me?”

“I’m not afraid, Ulquiorra. I’ve never been afraid of you,” she said, gazing into his eyes. They looked different now; completely inhuman, but they were still full of affection. “ _You_ taught me what the heart is, Ulquiorra. I couldn’t love without you.”

He gathered Orihime into his arms and then looked around for Urahara. He was nowhere to be seen. “I love you, Woman. If I may, can I be selfish?”

She smiled and nodded, curious about what he was asking.

“You’ll let me make love to you like this?”

Her mouth opened into a wonder-filled grin. “We can do that?” she asked, clearly interested.

“I have a penis. I had a penis when I was an Arrancar,” he said. “It might be an inappropriate time, but I almost lost you. I need you right now.”

She would not deny him. She couldn’t. She didn’t care if Urahara was still lurking around. It was easy to pull her nightshirt over her head and toss it into the dusty ground. She wore nothing beneath it. “I am yours, Ulquiorra. I need you as much as you need me.”

He smiled back at her and his tail wrapped around her leg to help support her as he parted the cloth that was around his waist. “I love you, Orihime.”

***

Life went on as normal in the Kurosaki-Cifer household. Things went on like they had before Orihime was assigned to bedrest. Her blood pressure went down. She returned to work with the promise to only work half a shift. Ulquiorra only went in on days he had off from school. 

The two adults often snuck off to Urahara’s bunker to relive that first day of him returning from Soul Society. Often times he would take Orihime flying and then make love to her. They made love even more when he was in his gigai. 

Eriko was learning how to control her spiritual pressure and her powers from Urahara and would often spar with Yoruichi and Kazui. Sometimes the Arrancar would join in. His daughter would get cocky and he’d floor her with his spiritual pressure. 

The girl learned quickly not to underestimate her father.

Kazui was gaining strength as well. As their training progressed, it became clear that he had not inherited any hollow power from his father, but somehow, his zanpakuto also worked as a fullbring and he was able to wield both a sword and a shield simultaneously. He was not yet very good at it, though, and Eriko would say he was cheating when he threw up a barrier. 

As spring approached and Orihime’s body grew heavy with Shinzo, the family made sure to have preparations in place. A bassinet stood waiting in her and Ulquiorra’s bedroom. A basket of diapers and wipes were on each floor. A bag was packed.

On the evening of March sixth, Orihime felt a tightness in her back. She had been walking from the kitchen to the living room and sat on the couch, bending forward and blowing out a breath slowly. She had almost forgotten how intense this was. She gripped her knees and called out softly, “Anybody?”

Eriko came downstairs first. “You okay?” she asked. The girl knew things weren’t okay as soon as she saw Orihime. “Dad!”

Ulquiorra was in the bathroom shaving. It didn’t happen often, but sometimes he had to get rid of the sparse facial hair that grew. He quickly finished up and then wiped his face off before following the sound of his daughter’s voice. “What--Orihime?! What’s wrong?”

A tight smile was on her face as she turned it toward him. “It’s time,” she said. “Well, it will be time, soon. We need to start timing these contractions.”

He scowled and then nodded. “Okay. Eriko, go get your bag and tell Kazui to get his. We’re going to Grandpa’s. Orihime do you want to come along? I’m sure having Isshin close by would be of help,” Ulquiorra said.

“Yeah. I mean, I’m in labor, not antisocial,” she said with a laugh after the contraction had subsided. “Let me just use the restroom and we can go.”

There was shouting and then two pairs of feet overhead and Ulquiorra nodded. “I’ll get everything into the car and then come get you.”

The two kids came downstairs squabbling about something. “Shhhh, into the car now. I don’t know what you two are arguing about, but into the car. Your mom is having a baby and she’s the only one who gets to freak out.”

The three of them got their things and bags into the car before Ulquiorra went back inside to help Orihime. “You okay?” he asked, standing outside of the downstairs bathroom.

“Yeah,” she said. She had a moment to think while she was in there, and the memory of the realities of her first labor had come back to her. She was scared. “I am just not looking forward to the hard part,” she admitted after she opened the door.

“We will get through this, Orihime. I’m going to be by your side every step of the way. There’s nothing that would make me leave you. I’m always going to come back to you.”

At seven-fourteen in the morning on March seventh, Shinzo Cifer was born with a powerful cry. Orihime’s labor had been long, but the worst of it was over quickly after a night full of well-spaced contractions. This birth had been easier on her than Kazui’s. It helped that she knew what to expect, and that she remembered the feeling of seeing her child for the first time after all that suffering.

That part was exactly the same. She cried unreservedly when Shinzo was placed on her chest. She looked at Ulquiorra for a moment, before her attention was lost in that perfect baby’s face. “I love him,” she whispered.

Ulquiorra was shocked and in awe of his girlfriend. She had given birth to this tiny human who was screaming his head off. “I love both of you,” he said as he kissed her temple. “This is our son.”

Her hand felt for his blindly and gripped it. “I have never been happier than I am right now. Shinzo…” she trailed off, looking at their offspring. He was still red-faced and a bit smooshed, but she could already see how beautiful he was. His fine hair was neither red nor black. It was brown, like her brother’s. His eyes were still that newborn blue color; they wouldn’t know what they would look like until later. He had his father’s fine nose and chin. He settled his cries after a moment and his face turned toward her, seeming to burrow into her chest.

The father smiled and put his hand on the infant’s back. “I’m going to take several photos of you and him to send to Isshin so that he can show Eriko and Kazui, okay?”

She smiled and let go of his hand to wipe her face “Okay, let’s hurry though, I think he’s hungry,” she said with an awkward giggle.

The day after Orihime and Shinzo were released from the hospital, Ulquiorra took the woman to city hall where they filled out paperwork. Just like that, they were married in the middle of March. 

The next year, Orihime announced she was pregnant again. They had a girl named Mariko. The next year came Hana. Ulquiorra decided that was enough children. They had to have a minivan to cart everyone around.

Five years after Shinzo was born, the two oldest children graduated from high school. Ulquiorra had to smile at the two as Eriko threw her arms around Kazui’s neck. The boy seemed to freeze at the contact before patting her awkwardly on the shoulder. If only the boy knew that Eriko still harbored a bit of a crush on him. Maybe she didn’t, Ulquiorra didn’t know.

The man just shook his head. It was comical. One kid would go off to college in Tokyo for some degree in advertising. Kaz wasn’t really sure what he was doing yet. He was talking about staying in the apartment above the cafe and helping out his mom with the little ones. Ulquiorra knew it would be a big help.

The night after their graduation, Ulquiorra lay in bed with his wife and their three year old. He sighed. “Can you scoot her over? Her feet are in my back.”

“It’s time for her to start sleeping in her own bed, darling,” Orihime said with a yawn. He was the one resisting the idea. They both knew Hana was the last baby they’d have together. Orihime was over it. She was looking forward to grandchildren already.

“Eriko can stay at the apartment until she goes to university,” Ulquiorra said in a tired voice. “Mariko needs to accept that she has to share a room with Hana. There’s too many girls to put in that room. Why didn’t we have another boy?”

“We’re just lucky Hana wasn’t Hana and Hana 2,” she said, chuckling. “I’ll go put her on the zabuton,” she said, referring to the large rectangular cushion on the floor that actually belonged in the living room. They kept it up there for nights like this when they needed space. “Tomorrow we can talk to Eriko. She might like my old room. Besides, Kazui is there; they can keep each other company, as long as we keep the surveillance on. We don’t need them throwing parties on the roof.”

Ulquiorra gave a quiet snort and after his wife deposited the child on the floor, he rolled towards her, snuggling up to Orihime. “You can break the news to her,” he said in a sleepy voice.

Eriko had no problem with moving to the apartment. Hana, on some nights, found her way into her parents’ bed until she was escorted back to her own room.

During the month-long break after graduation before departing for university, Ulquiorra decided that he needed to talk to Kazui as an adult for the first time. Kazui had been in the cafe with him when the thought occurred to him, and he asked, “Kazui, are you busy tomorrow?”

“I’m free, what do you need, Dad?” Kazui replied as he put some dishes up in a rack.

“Wanna go to Urahara’s tomorrow night? Or would tonight work better?” Ulquiorra asked.

His daughter chose that moment to walk past. “He’s free tonight,” she said, smiling as if she was teasing him.

Kazui rolled his eyes. “Tonight is fine if you’re up to it. I could use to work out some frustration,” he growled, wrinkling his nose after his new roommate.

He clapped his son on the back and laughed. After he sent Eriko to Naruki City to help Orihime with the little ones, the two males found themselves in Urahara’s bunker. Jinta showed them into the room and then closed the hatch after they both arrived at the bottom of the ladder. Ichigo Kurosaki’s battle pass was hanging off a hook at the side of the ladder. “You wanna go first, or do you just want to fight in our meat suits?”

“I have to work tomorrow morning. I’d rather practice swordfighting, if it’s all the same,” Kazui said, taking a seat and pressing the badge to his chest.

A few seconds later, Ulquiorra did the same thing. He was still that strange angel-like creature with a Hogyoku in his chest, making the lines on his body pulse and glow. “Go easy on an old man, okay?”

Kazui snorted. “Okay, sure, overpowered Sephiroth,” he said with a snicker, drawing his zanpakuto and taking the stance the older man had taught him years ago.

“I have no clue who that is,” Ulquiorra said. He pushed off of the ground and went straight for Kazui. The kid was a good fighter. He could be better with his zanpakuto, but being Orihime’s child, he didn’t get many chances to get out of his body and do this kind of stuff. She did not want him getting sucked into the life of a Soul Reaper.

The pay sucked, from what Ulquiorra heard.

“So I was thinking,” Kazui said as his sword crossed with Ulquiorra’s long claws, “I have an idea about what I want to do when school starts.”

“Thank the gods above you’re not going to be like Ichiro and be a delivery boy all your life,” Ulquiorra said as he blocked another blow from the kid. “What is it?”

Kazui spun around and tried to attack from behind. He didn’t even worry about making contact; he had never been able to. “Well, you know I was accepted to study in Kanagawa. I was thinking I would enroll and study to become, um, a teacher?” The orange-haired teen’s brows rose, clearly seeking acceptance of his idea. He had always had a deep respect for Ulquiorra as a teacher, and he wanted to have his dad and mentor's seal of approval.

Ulquiorra stopped and caught the other male’s sword with his hierro covered hand. “A teacher? You know we don’t make all that much, but it’s good that you want to teach kids. You’ve come a long way since I’ve known you. I remember the kid who got into fights with everyone and was mouthy with me.” The arrancar smiled.

Kazui lowered his sword and looked up at Ulquiorra with a self-conscious half-smile. “Yeah, well, I mean,” he scratched the back of his neck, “You always made me feel like I could be better; like I had a chance to redeem myself. I hope I can help kids like me feel that way. And I’m not interested in being super wealthy, or anything,” he added with a nervous chuckle.

“Every child deserves a second chance to redeem themselves, Kazui. Look at Eriko,” he said, studying the kid.

Kazui nodded. Ulquiorra was right. “I know,” he said, drawing his sword again.

Ulquiorra’s phone vibrated and he pulled it out of his pocket. Orihime had texted him to pick up some rice from the store. “You heard me. I’ve got to go. Your mom wants something,” he said.

He rolled his eyes. He saw the way the older man’s lips twitched. His parents were not exactly discreet in their affection for one another. He knew what his mother probably wanted. Pervert. “Don’t you two ever get bored? I mean, like, don’t you have other interests?” 

The green eyed man laughed and nodded. “I like watching your mother. I like watching our children. I like reading, grading papers, teaching kendo… Once you find someone who you’d give your life for, you’ll understand. We do more than just have sex, despite what you and Eriko think. I do work, so I can’t hump her leg all day.”

“Ugh. God. You probably would, too, wouldn’t you. So, tell me, how did you make mom fall for you?”

Ooooh. This kid was still mouthy. “Kazui, I just talked to her. I also threatened her friends, denied that I had a heart, killed several people, and then charmed her with my good looks and a bottle of wine,” Ulquiorra said and looked at the kid with a bored expression. “Then I knocked her up. Not that I advise that; kids cost money.”

Kazui’s face raced from shocked to snarky in record time. “Yeah, you should know,” he said with a deep chuckle before leaping up the first several rungs of the ladder leading back out of the bunker.

“Look here you little shit, you’re baiting me again!” Ulquiorra shouted with a laugh. “I do know. I’ve got a minivan to prove it!”

**FIVE YEARS LATER**

Ulquiorra rolled his eyes as he sat at a table with his wife. Their children had put together this ten year anniversary party. There were people there he had known for years. Urahara, Isshin, Yuzu, Karin, Satomi, Endo-san, Ichiro the delivery guy, even Ishida was there. He picked up the wine glass in front of him and took a sip. “I suppose the foodie picked this out, didn’t she?” he said to the redhead, referring to Eriko and her expensive tastes. The young woman had a good job to afford this type of stuff. Ulquiorra wasn’t used to it, though.

“Oh come on,” Orihime teased. “You only say that because Eriko paid for it. This is from the same vineyard that I used to buy from before we had all these spawlings,” Orihime retorted fondly, using a word she had picked up from him.

“Speaking of spawnlings, where is she? Where is _your_ son?” Ulquiorra asked, turning his head. He shook his head and saw Hana and Shinzo doing some weird childish dance, while Mariko had her face in a book. The kids were weird. Hana was exhibiting Fullbringer powers and Shinzo was training to fight hollows. Their son already had a zanpakuto. Nightshade’s shikai was just like Orihime’s Belladonna, and was as deadly as the boy was kind. Mariko saw spirits but chose to ignore them like Karin had. “Weird children.”

“They are ours, so it comes as no surprise,” Orihime deadpanned. “Well, I suppose, before all the speeches and what-have-yous start, and while I have your attention, I should tell you what I got for you for our anniversary,” she said as if it was not anything to get excited about.

“If it’s a pregnancy test in a box, you can take it back,” he said and smiled at her, teasing the woman. Ulquiorra knew that ship had sailed. “Is it a vacation? I never did get to take you on a holiday.”

She was not surprised that he had guessed it. She leaned sideways so her lips were nearly on his ear and grasped his thigh, her fingertips brushing against where she knew he preferred to let his dick lie, and smiled as she whispered, “Yes. It’s very far away. The cell phone reception is very, very bad. And so is your wife.”

Ulquiorra turned his head and smirked at her before taking another sip of wine. “Why is my wife bad? Do I get to lose the gigai again?”

“Did I mention that it was very, very isolated? The answer is always yes, by the way.”

“Monster fucker,” Ulquiorra murmured before kissing Orihime. He always teased her about it, but it turned him on, too. “Well I do hope you love my surprise for you.”

“What is it?” she asked, blushing at his affection. He still had that effect on her after all this time.

Ulquiorra smiled at her before he pulled a bracelet out of the pocket of the trousers he wore. On it was the star charm Kazui had gotten her years ago, and the bird charm he had gotten her. The charm bracelet also held several other trinkets; there was a heart for Shinzo, an angel wing for his third resurreccion, a cherry blossom flower for Hana, a castle for Eriko, a monkey charm for Kazui, and jasmine flower for Mariko. He fastened the bracelet on his wife’s wrist and then picked up her hand and kissed it.

Her breath stuttered as she looked at the gift and realized the sentiment behind each charm, then blinked away tears as she smiled at her husband. “I love you, Cifer-sensei. I will always love you. Thank you,” she said, putting her other arm around his neck and leaning her head on his shoulder.

He would have thanked her, but there was a sound behind them. “Mom, Dad,” Eriko said. She looked sophisticated and put together. She had to, having the kind of job she did. She stood tall next to Kazui, just a couple inches short from being eye to eye with him. “Kazui has something to tell you.”

“Um, well, I got a job teaching in Tokyo. I start next month,” Kazui explained.

“Oh! That’s wonderful, honey,” Orihime said, picking her head up and offering her son a warm grin.

Ulquiorra also smiled. It was nice to hear that. “Don’t let those kids take you for a ride, son. I’m proud of you.”

“C’mon we’ve got to round up people for speeches,” Eriko said pulling Kazui away from their parents now that the news had been delivered. She needed this party to go off without a hitch.

***

Ulquiorra looked at his wife later that evening and sighed. “Well, I’ve had enough excitement for the night.” He kissed his wife. “I love you Orihime. I’m glad Eriko dragged me into that cafe all those years ago. Happy anniversary, Woman.”

“I love you, Ulquiorra,” she replied. She took a deep breath, taking her attention off of the party guests, and refocusing on the real reason she was there tonight. Her husband. The man she lived for. The person who held her heart in his hands. She smiled at him and finally said, “Thank you for this life. Thank you our children. Thank you for giving me my memories back.” She kissed him again. “Thanks for coming back to me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This fic was written after the Consonance and Dissonance series (still being published) was completed. It was a really nice departure from the teen drama in CAD, and although there were some heavy, serious themes in Back To You, the mature kind of relationship between Orihime and Ulquiorra, after admitting their feelings to themselves, was never really in question. It was a breath of fresh air. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Big thanks to EIV for coming back to it after a hiatus and reworking the ending. I think this ending is so much better. - JKR
> 
> HI!!! EIV here! I know I don't respond to people's comments all that much but hopefully, things will turn around soon and I'll want to be social again. Thank you all for reading! We really appreciate it that the readers take time out to bless us with kudos and kind words. I don't really like writing canon stuff all that much because I'm stuck in a box but JKR is right, this was a breath of fresh air after being immersed in CAD. <3 I hope you all will continue to support us! - EIV

**Author's Note:**

> THANK YOU for reading! All comments/kudos are deeply appreciated.  
> [ULQUIHIME DISCORD](https://discord.gg/JbdPDcb)  
> EspadaIV can be reached at [HERE ON TUMBLR](http://espada-iv.tumblr.com/)  
> JKRobertson can be reached at [HERE ON TWITTER](https://twitter.com/EivJkr), and [HERE ON TUMBLR](https://jkrobertson.tumblr.com/)  
> Want fic updates? [eivjkr.com](https://eivjkr.com/)  
> 


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